#MiddleburyCT #SouthburyCT #Region15
Region 15 Superintendent of Schools Joshua Smith issued the following email Sunday, August 25. Please note it includes a link to all the bus routes for opening day on Tuesday, August 27:
I hope this message finds you and your family well. At this time, we are planning for All Region 15 Schools to open as scheduled on Tuesday, August 27.
Since our last communication on Friday, we have been working closely with town officials, the Southbury Police Department, the Southbury Public Works Department, and First Student Transportation managers and bus drivers to develop transportation plans for our students to begin the 2024-25 school year on Tuesday, August 27.
On Saturday, August 24, our bus drivers drove buses through the newly planned routes in Southbury. There are approximately 123 miles of roads in Southbury and as of this time, due to the unbelievable work of Southbury’s Department of Public Works, only about 10 miles remain closed.
When roads are open, there are no restrictions to vehicles traveling the road. Our bus drivers have traveled all routes to ensure buses can pass through safely and will be able to transport to all of our posted stops. As the town continues to work on roads and make repairs, it is important that the community follow posted speed limit signs and respect coned off areas and detours.
Working in concert with the aforementioned departments and First Student Transportation, we will be able to run most bus routes and provide both morning and afternoon transportation service to families.
Door-to-door bus transportation will be provided for the majority of families who reside in Southbury and for all families in Middlebury.
A few families that have been significantly impacted by the road conditions will not have a bus stop at their driveway. These families will need to go to the end of a street or travel a short distance to go to a bus stop.
Certain routes may not be direct to our schools and have been modified to accommodate road closures. This may temporarily cause longer bus routes for some students.
All Middlebury bus routes will run to and from schools as planned, and all special education students and all PreKindergarten students will have door-to-door bus service. Students who attend school out of district will receive a separate email with times and stops.
As we are able to provide more traditional bus transportation, we will not need to use community bus stops or provide extended before and after school care.
For those families who have already registered for BAS, those services will run as planned.
We will continuously evaluate our transportation routes, as well as our pick up and drop off procedures and make adjustments as needed.
Bus Route Information for Middlebury and Southbury students can be found at the following link and on our Region 15 website (www.Region15.org): 2024-25 Start of School Year Bus Route Information
As always, families also have the choice to self transport or to keep their student home if they feel their immediate conditions are too difficult to get a student to their bus stop or have any concerns. We anticipate increased traffic during school drop off and pick up times and the process to get students into our buildings and back home will take some time. In addition, pick up and drop off procedures and traffic patterns may be altered at our schools to accommodate traffic flow. Our Region 15 principals will share any changes with families and there will be increased police presence at schools to assist with traffic and safety.
This week we worked through multiple transportation scenarios and evolving plans with the goal of providing door-to-door transportation to the majority of our families. We acknowledge and have tremendous gratitude to the dedication of our Department of Public Works, our bus drivers, and First Student Transportation managers, the First Selectman and all those that have contributed to get us to a point where we provide bus routes to most families at the start of the school year.
We are aware of families who have been significantly impacted and who may need to make adjustments to their schedules to accommodate the start of the school year. Our Region 15 social workers are available for assistance: Ms. Aldieri at ealdieri@region15.org and Ms. Carey at scarey@region15.org are available to help.
The start of the school year typically requires extra time as students and families adjust to school year schedules, and this year, as we start the school year in the wake of a natural disaster, your support, patience and grace is greatly appreciated.
