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School Busing 1
Running Head: SCHOOL BUSING
The Effects of School Busing on Students
David Black
EDL 681
School Busing 2
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I grew up in Farmington, Illinois and lived within walking
distance from my school. Other than those friends who lived in the
country, most of my friends walked to school as well. Walking to school
was part of the adventure. When the weather was warm, we rode our
bikes. Most of us participated in after school activities because we
could stay after and walk home. We often stayed after school for study
sessions before major tests. Student attendance at sporting events was
very high from students of all ages because transportation was not
required in order to attend. Since the school was in the center of the
town, most people walked to games and met at the gate. When the new
school was constructed outside of the city limits, the experience I had
as a youth became one that my children would not be able to
experience. The opening of the new campus meant the closing of
neighborhood elementary, junior high, and high schools. Unless a
student is old enough to drive, know someone who is or has a parent
who drives them to school, students ride a bus. If you live in the closest
town, your bus ride might be only 1015 minutes. However, for some
students in outlaying rural areas, the bus ride can reach an hour or
more.
Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study was to examine the perceptions of the staff of
Farmington Central with regard to the effects of school transportation on a
student's overall school experience including achievement, wellbeing, and effect
on parent/school involvement.
Research Question
1. What are the perceptions of the staff of Farmington Central with regard to
the effects of school transportation on a student's public school experience?
Purpose of the Study
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The purpose of the study is to successfully complete EDL681. An additional
purpose of this study is to better understand how busing potentially affects
students so as to better focus instruction.
Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is to broaden the understanding of how long bus
rides impact students. These data will enhance and ultimately improve how
administration and faculty of Farmington CUSD #265 plan the education
experience for students who have long commutes and their families.
Methodology
The methodology of the study includes both quantitative and qualitative
pieces. This mixed methods approach uses a multiple step sampling process. The
combination of convenience and proposive sampling will be used. Teachers and staff
with Farmington Central CUSD #265 will be surveyed using an online survey called
Survey Monkey. The Likert scaled instrument will examine their perceptions of the
effects of busing on students and their families. Open ended questions will be
included on the survey instrument.
Assumptions
1. I grew up with a community school and may be biases against busing for that
reason
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2. I was able to walk and ride a bicycle to and from school. This may bias me
against busing
3. I assume that people will answer honestly when they take the survey.
4. I assume respondents will trust that their responses will be anonymous.
5. I assume that respondents will be able to manipulate the online survey.
Limitations of the study
1. Time: Though plenty of time is alloted for participants to complete the
survey, it is possible that issues come occur that would limit that allotted time.
2. Gender: 70% of the the potential respondent pool are female.
3. I am an administrator at the school district from which the participant pool is
drawn. This could potentially affect how someone answers if they do not completely
believe in the anonymity of the instrument.
Delimitations of the Study
The number of the respondents is small as it is limited to the faculty and staff of
Farmington CUSD #265. The respondents are only from Farmington CUSD #265 so
the results could only be applied to that population.
Definition of Terms
School Bus. A vehicle used for transporting children to or from school or on
activities connected with school. (MerriamWebster Online)
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Student Achievement. Academic achievement as measured by standardized test
scores. (National Middle School Association)
School Consolidation. The process of combining two or more small schools into one
larger school (Answers.com)
Organization of the Study
Chapter 1 included the statement of the problem, the significance of the
problem, assumptions, limitations, delimitations, and definition of terms. Chapter 2
includes a review of the literature used to form a knowledge base for this study.
Chapter 3 includes the methodology used in the mixed methods study, the sampling
methods, instrumentation, and analysis of data. Chapter 4 includes a report of those
data that answered the research questions. Chapter 5 reports the conclusions of the
study.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
This chapter includes a review of the literature on the effect of school busing
on the overall school experience of students. The topics include: history,
consolidation, busing and student achievement, mixing age ranges, safety,
discipline, and extra curricular.
History
In a report sponsored by the Commission on Rural Education and the War,
Butterworth (1945) painted a picture of the problems faced by rural schools after
the end of World War II. It was at this time that many policies were drafted that
changed the way public education and policymakers viewed rural schools. The
article examines many of the social and economic issues faces by American citizens
living in rural areas and outlines future goals for this population. The majority of
the report focuses on economic data and statistics regarding all aspects of rural life
from health and disease control to standards for teacher competency. Hidden within
this report is what can be considered the blue print for school consolidation and the
beginning of mass school transportation. As with most of the studies in existence
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regarding school transportation, this one focuses on the equipment required and
fails to mention the customer being transported. On page 131 of the study, the
author lists seven consideration for school transportation cost including that the use
of larger vehicles can increase the length of a route and thus make it possible to
save on driver cost.
Zars (1998) illustrates examples of very rural schools in states like Montana
and Arizona where students ride school buses for up to three hours. She points out
that twentythree million children ride school buses for over twentyone million
miles every day. School busing became an issue with school consolidation in the
early 1900s when one room schoolhouses began closing and students were attending
larger regional schools. In the 1960's, it was used in an effort to equalize school
funding issues and desegregate the student population. Despite this, Zars points out
that busing is now and has always been primarily driven by school consolidation.
Closing schools was the goal and busing became necessary. Politicians and school
officials saw this as a way to save money by using economies of scale.
Zars found that, for whatever reason, research on the effects of busing
virtually stopped after the early 1970's. Statistics on busing now seem to focus on
the equipment rather than the passenger. Cost and logistics are the focus of most
School Busing 8
studies. Though anecdotal information abounds, and Zars gives several examples of
this in the final part of the article, research is scarce.
Consolidation
Bard, Gardener, and Wieland (2006) presented a paper to the NREA
Consolidation Task force which defined consolidation, addressed current research
and issues concerning consolidation, and presented their recommendations. The
consolidation movement began in earnest with the rise of industry in urban areas.
The industrialized model proposed that there was one best model for educating.
They saw larger schools as more efficient and economical. There were studies in the
1950's that stated a school must have at least 100 students in its graduating class
in order to adequately prepare students for college. Studies from this period also
found that small high schools needed to be totally eliminated in order to best
achieve efficiency and expand course offerings. The study also points out that
International Harvester was one of the biggest promoters of school consolidation
during this time. It was probably no coincidence that this was also the company
that built and sold school buses as a major segment of their business.
Bard et al. (2006) continued on to discuss desegregation, the economic
downturns in the 70's and the A Nation at Risk report in the 1980's as forces that
continued to drive the consolidation movement. The author does spend some time
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discussing the recent studies that have found that the big school consolidation
movement may have been a mistake. There has not been evidence that
consolidation of small districts into larger ones has reduced fiscal expenditures or
improved student achievement. The author also notes that consolidation increased
travel time for children and that no recent research has been done to show the
effects of busing on student achievement. For decades, politicians and education
officials have promoted a model that was not based in research. In fact, research
tends to show the opposite. The article recommends that rural communities should
make every effort to maintain a physical school presence in their community.
Witham (1997) performed an analysis of the comparative costs and benefits of
closing small rural schools and consolidating them into more of a regional education
center. Though the majority of the article focused on comparing the traditional costs
of running small schools versus a more central, larger school, Witham did
something unusual in that he assigned a dollar value to the time of the school
children. He points out that transportation costs are generally not considered in the
performing cost comparisons. The author then presents evidence that closing
schools does not necessarily reduce the cost of education. The evidence in this study
shows that the costs are merely redistributed. The study discusses the social costs
of closing a school and how sometimes promises of an expanded curriculum at a
larger attendance center do not materialize. Witham presents evidence that
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redistributing the cost of education into a larger school does not magically produce
more money to expand curriculum offerings. And, because transportation becomes a
part of a student's everyday school experience when local schools are closed, the
student has less time for additional activities as hours may now be spent sitting on
a school bus. Finally, the author discusses distance education as a method of
expanding curricular offerings and discusses the lack of evidence supporting larger
schools.
Killeen and Sipple (2000) focused a study on the relationship between school
consolidation and district transportation costs, the effects of costs for the
institution, and other factors that might support consolidation. Killeen and Sipple
noted that historical evidence has not shown the economies of scale argument to be
valid with regard to school consolidation. Transportation costs and time have been
so significant that it has offset whatever savings that might have been realized.
State authority has supported consolidation and that has frequently overridden the
local control argument. Also, national land use and housing policy has played a
significant role in pushing for consolidation even though the promised cost savings
has not been realized. The authors also found that transportation costs have been so
extensive with consolidation in rural areas that no money has been left to expand
the expanded curriculum that is usually promised with bigger schools. This article
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provides more proof that student wellbeing and student achievement are generally
not considerations in most consolidation discussions.
Busing and Student Achievement
Lu and Tweeten (1973) wrote an article describing the results of their study
of the impact of busing on student achievement on Oklahoma students. Their data
was obtained from a 1970 survey of almost 5000 students in grades four, eight and
eleven. Of these students, approximately 2000 were bused and the others were used
for comparison. Lu and Tweeten go to great lengths to explain exactly how they
used their data to arrive at the findings of the study. They factored out variables
that could affect the results. For example, in high school, they examined the
relationship of a high school student working and how the having a job affected
their achievement in school. Though they admit that socioeconomic factors could
play a role in that students from rural areas may be in a lower income bracket than
those who lived close to the school, they found that student achievement was
negatively related to riding a bus.
Howley and Howley (2001) wrote a document for ERIC Digest that
summarized information regarding what they called the hidden costs of schools and
district consolidation. Specifically, they discussed busing and the effect of long bus
rides on students. The authors gave a very brief history of busing pointing out that
School Busing 12
policymakers and education leaders saw consolidating small, rural schools into
larger education centers as a valuable way of accomplishing national political and
economic goals. What these decision makers did not consider was the effect on the
student. History has shown that it is smaller schools, not larger, that have a
positive correlation with increased student achievement. They do point out,
however, that an insufficient research base makes it difficult to pinpoint specific
consequences of long bus rides. The Howleys refer to a very dated study from the
early 1970's with regard to a specific link to long bus rides and lower student
achievement. This study did find that longer bus rides lowered student
achievement. No research on that specific topic has been done since and the authors
take the final paragraph of their article to outline the need for more.
In an article for the Rural Education Issue Digest, Spence (2000) discusses
the effect of long bus rides on a school's budget, the family life of a student, and
student achievement. The vast majority of the article discussed the history and
rising cost of busing. State transportation reimbursement formulas are also
discussed as the author compares reimbursement rates by state.
Spence discussed some of the minimal research that does exist on busing and
its effects on student achievement. One study by White in 1970 studied children
who were bused for racial desegregation and found no effects on student
School Busing 13
achievement. The author did note that these students were all bussed 45 minutes or
less with some riding as little as 10 minutes. Therefore, comparison to rural kids
who ride the bus for long periods of time may not be valid. Other research by Lu
and Tweeten was discussed which found that long bus rides had a detrimental
effect on student achievement. However, Spence stated that this study was
inconclusive because the sample size was small and factors such as socioeconomic
status were not considered. The author then discussed a 1997 study of students in
Montana that the Spence said concluded that bus rides of up to 90 minutes had no
effect on student achievement. The author then cited much anecdotal evidence from
Zars and testimony from public hearings in West Virginia that indicate there long
rides do affect student achievement. The author concludes that more research is
needed in this area as Spence feels that most of the research base that exists is
inconclusive.
Mixing Age Ranges
Ramage and Howley (2005) performed a study on the perceptions of parents
with regard to their experiences of long bus rides for their children. The subjects
were located on a single bus route for a Midwestern school. The article gave a brief
background on busing children along with some historical information showing how
busing has become such a pervasive presence in the lives of so many students and
School Busing 14
their families. The researchers used interviews to collect their data. These data
showed that parents were most concerned with the atmosphere on the bus, the
length of the ride, and general bus safety.
Overriding the Ramage and Howley study was the fact that the district used
a practice called doublerouting. This is where children of all ages, PreK through
high school, are all transported on the same bus. Riders are sorted by their location
rather than their age or maturity. This practice seemed to lead to most of the
concerns expressed by the parents. Though most parents felt the ride was too long,
a majority of the parents of younger children reported that their children were
subjected to objectionable behaviors by older students. Some of the behaviors
included being picked on, called names, bullied, and even some forms of sexual
harassment.
Thurman (2000) found that a type of informal social hierarchy exists on a bus
that contains students of all ages and grade levels. As students progress through
the grades, they advance in their school bus status level. Harassment and bullying
are seen as a part of life and older children see the harassing of younger children as
a rite of passage. High school students teach younger middle schoolers to harass
and pick on younger elementary students. This serves as a sort of harassment
training that middle schoolers many times take too far as they lack the maturity to
School Busing 15
be able to tell when they are crossing the line of what is socially acceptable in the
school bus culture. Thus, this behavior causes younger children to experience stress
that continues on into the school day or carries on into the evening after the child is
dropped off at home.
Safety
In her dissertation, Thurman (2000) set out to investigate what happened on
school bus rides in a small, rural Southern Appalachian school system. She found
that three themes rose to the surface during her interviews: safety; physical comfort
issues; and behavior. There were varying levels of concern from the different
stakeholder groups she interviewed. Parents were the ones who worried about their
children getting to and from school safely. They were also concerned with the
comfort of their children during the ride. Emotional and mental safety was a
concern of the parents as they felt that their child picked up inappropriate language
from older students who were riding on the same bus as their younger student.
Parents reported bullying as a major concern as well. In the area of safety, teachers
expressed concern of student on student harassment and the fact that issues like
these had a tendency to spillover into the school environment. Bus drivers felt that
safety would be increased if there were bus monitors. Middle school students
reported that they were sometimes encouraged by older high school students to
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bully and pick on the younger elementary students. Drivers and students reported
that there was an informal hierarchy on the bus with the high school students
having the highest status and younger elementary students the lowest.
Thurman gave several examples of various scenarios to illustrate various
answers and conclusions of the study. These scenarios were ones presented to her
by subjects during her interviewing of them. The author makes the point that a 45
minute bus trip one way means that a student will spend 270 hours annually riding
on a school bus. She then adds up the hours over the entire career of a K12 student
and concludes that not enough attention is paid to a part of a child's education day
that will eventually equal about 438 academic days.
Solomon, Campbell, Feuer, Masters, Samkian, and Paul (2001) placed
instruments inside of school buses to measure the level of diesel exhaust in the air
the children riding the bus breathe. Each bus drove a regular school bus route that
lasted 45 minutes. They collected over 20 hours worth of samples. These air
samples showed that children riding a school bus may be exposed up to four times
the amount of diesel exhaust as someone riding in a car directly behind the bus.
Solomon et al. point out that the increase of diesel exhaust means an increase of 23
to 46 times the typical cancer risk of diesel exhaust exposure. The article then
School Busing 17
discusses alternatives like diesel engines that have been developed to release less
pollutants and examines the possible use of natural gas in buses.
Discipline
Coles (1997) studied the role of bus drivers with regard to student discipline
on the bus. She provided an example of a bus driver needing to pull over the bus in
order to quiet the unruly bus load of students. Coles feels that bus drivers are
required to take on the role of disciplinarian and child psychologist. The author
referred to a statistic by the National School Transportation Association that
pointed out that though drivers of the over 400,000 buses on the road today have to
first deal with safety, student management follows as a very close second. More
anecdotal information is given along with a few more examples of reallife student
discipline issues that have occurred on buses. The article ends by pointing out that
the bus ride is basically an extension of the school day. Therefore, it is logical to
assume that bus drivers deal with the same types of student management issues
that face teachers on a daily basis.
Extra Curricular
In what is probably the most powerful report regarding the effects on extra
curricular participation with busing, Jimerson (2007) finds significant correlation
School Busing 18
between longer bus rides and lower rates of school involvement. Jimerson focused
her study on consolidated districts in the state of West Virginia. She organized her
results around eight key questions: How do the students get to school? How long is
the morning commute? How many student's rides are over the state time
guidelines? How is engagement in extracurricular activities affected by
consolidation status? By travel time? By mode of transportation? By very long bus
rides? And the final question looks for a link between bus ride length and college
aspirations.
The findings of Jimerson's study were startling. Those students with long
commute times participated in far fewer extra curricular activities. Thirty one
percent of students had oneway commute times over the one hour guideline set by
the state of West Virginia. School bus ridership was much higher in consolidated
district. The study found a strong relationship between mode of transportation and
participation in extracurricular activities. Though students in consolidated
districts who drove also had long commutes, those who drove had a much higher
rate of participation in extracurriculars. The study also found that the students
who had to ride the bus were generally lower socioeconomic status than those who
could afford to drive a car. Therefore, the author pointed out that the long
commutes were indirectly causing poor children to have less opportunity to
participate in extracurricular activities than children of more affluent families.
School Busing 19
School Busing 20
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Riding a school bus is a fact of life for students of rural communities. When
schools are built in central locations, it often means that the school is built outside
of any community. The bike racks and crossing guards that were once commonplace
in small communities are now replaced with bug yellow school buses picking up kids
at most corners. Though many of their parents grew up walking or riding their
bicycles to school, much of today's student population will never have that option.
Unless a student is old enough to drive, know someone who is or has a parent who
drives them to school, students ride a bus. If you live in the town closest to the
school, your bus ride might be only 1015 minutes. However, for some students in
outlaying rural areas, the bus ride can reach an hour or more.
Research Questions
1. What are the perceptions of the staff of Farmington Central with regard to
the effects of school transportation on a student's public school experience?
Methodology
I am using a researcher created instrument, I am going to survey the staff of
Farmington CUSD #265. I used an expert to review my questions, modified
School Busing 21
questions accordingly, used email to send out a link so participants could click to
take the survey.
Subjects of the Study
Population
The population requested in this study consists of certified and noncertified
staff from Farmington Central CUSD #265.
Sample
The 52 staff that responded to the survey at Farmington Central District 265.
Instrumentation
Researcher created as a part of EDL 681. The class professor reviewed the
instrument, critiqued the questions and provided feedback. The instrument had
eight questions which were answered using a Likert scale. The Likert scale
responses were strongly agree, disagree, no opinion, agree, and strongly agree.
There were also three openended questions. The first two openended questions
were relevant to the study while the third was a throwaway question. As the
researcher completed the review of research, common categories became apparent.
These categories were used to develop the questions for the survey instrument.
Questions were crafted in a fashion so that a positively worded question may
be designed to illicit a negative response or negatively worded to possibly illicit a
positive response.
School Busing 22
Validity
This instrument was researcher created and has no validity.
Reliability
This instrument was researcher created and has no reliability.
Procedures
The researcher emailed Farmington Central CUSD #265 staff requesting
their participation in the project. The email contained a request from me stating
that this was for a class, that it would take less than five minutes to complete, and
that it would be completely confidential. The email message also contained a
personal statement from the researcher asking for the recipient's help in completing
the EDL 681 class. A link to the instrument on Survey Monkey was included in the
message so that the recipient merely had to click on it in to be taken directly to the
survey. The email was sent to the teachers the evening before a teacher's workshop
day. This was done intentionally as the workshop was the day before report card
day so most had the time to complete it.
Data collection and Recording
Survey Monkey will generate a descriptive statistical analysis of the
responses, a frequency count, and a mean score for each Likert score will be given.
Open ended responses will be analyzed using coding.
Data Analysis
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This report will utilize the data analysis provided by Survey Monkey which provides
the N and the mean.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF DATA
The research question was What are the perceptions of the staff of
Farmington Central with regard to the effects of school transportation on a student's
public school experience? Survey questions were sent out in the form of a Survey
Monkey online questionnaire. There were eight quantitative questions using a
Likert scale of 1 to 5. Categories were strongly agree, disagree, no opinion, agree,
and strongly agree. Three questions were qualitative with one serving as a throw
away question. 120 survey emails were sent out and 52 responded for a response
rate of 43%. Because this was a teacher institute day, program aides, personal
aides, and classroom aides would not have been in attendance. Therefore, unless
School Busing 24
they checked their work email from home, they may not have received the
invitation.
Survey Question #1: Bus rides for some of our students are too long. This
question is part of the consolidation focus. The topic of consolation. The literature
showed that consolidation has increased bus times to levels that are sometimes well
past what is recommended by most states (Bard, Gardener, & Wieland, 2006).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagree e Opinion Agree
Bus Rides for some of our students are too 2.00% 5.90% 17.60% 43.10% 31.40%
long. (1) (3) (9) (22) (16)
Fifty one of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this question show that the respondents overwhelmingly show agreement that
some of our students have bus rides that are too long. Though no specific time was
given for what was too long, 74.5% of respondents at least agreed that some bus
rides were too long.
Survey Question #2: The length of time a student spends riding the bus to
and from school has little effect on a student's academic achievement. The topic of
how student achievement as it relates to school busing came to light during the
review of literature (Lu & Tweeten, 1973).
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Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
The length of time a student spends riding the 13.5% 63.5% 11.5% 9.6% 1.9%
bus to and from school has little effect on a (7) (33) (6) (5) (1)
student's academic achievement.
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this question show that the respondents disagree with this statement. 77% of
the respondents felt that the length of time spent on a bus had an effect on the
achievement of a student. 11.5% of the respondents felt that there was no effect
while 11.5% had no opinion.
Survey Question #3: Mixing older and younger students on the same bus has
not been a problem. The topic of how the mixing of older and younger students on
the same bus came to light as a serious issue in the review of literature (Thurman,
2000).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
Mixing older and younger students on the 25.0% 50.0% 9.6% 13.5% 1.9%
same bus has not been a problem. (13) (26) (5) (7) (1)
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this question show that the respondents disagree with this statement. 75% of
School Busing 26
the respondents felt that mixing older students with younger students on the same
bus . 15.4% of the respondents agreed that this was not a problem while 9.6% had
no opinion.
Survey Question #4: Student behavior is adequately monitored on buses. The
review of literature showed the area of discipline to be significant on school buses
(Coles, 1997).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
Student behavior is adequately monitored on 15.4% 61.5% 9.6% 13.5% 0.0%
buses. (8) (32) (5) (7) (0)
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this survey show that the respondents overwhelmingly disagree with this
statement. 77% of the respondents felt that student discipline is not monitored
adequately on buses. 13.5% of the respondents felt that there was no effect while
9.6% had no opinion. No respondents strongly agreed that there was adequate
monitoring of behavior on buses.
Survey Question #5: Behaviors on a school bus have little effect on the
student's school experience as they are two totally separate environments. The
School Busing 27
review of literature showed the area of discipline to be significant on school buses as
it may spill over into the school setting (Coles, 1997).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
Behaviors on a school bus have little effect on 46.2% 50% 1.9% 0.0% 1.9%
the student's school experience as they are (24) (26) (1) (0) (1)
two totally separate environments.
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this survey show that the respondents overwhelmingly disagree with this
statement. 96.2% of the respondents felt that behaviors on the school bus have an
effect on the school environment. Only 1.9% of the respondents felt that there was
no effect while 1.9% had no opinion.
Survey Question #6: School busing is safe for the students of our district. The
review of literature showed the area of safety to be significant on school buses.
(Solomon, Campbell, Feuer, Masters, Samkian, and Paul, 2001).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
School busing is safe for the students of our 2.0% 11.8% 19.6% 64.7% 2.0%
district. (1) (6) (10) (33) (1)
School Busing 28
Fifty one of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this survey show that the respondents at least agree with this statement. 66.7%
of the respondents felt that school busing is safe for students of the district. Only
13.8% felt that there were safety issues with busing while 19.6% had no opinion.
Survey Question #7: The distance traveled by students to and from school has
a negative effect on parent involvement. The farther away the student lives from
school, the less likely the parent will be involved in the school. The review of
literature showed the area of distance traveled to be related to participation rates of
parents and students in extracurricular activities. (Jimerson, 2007).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
The distance traveled by students to and from 9.6% 34.6% 13.5% 36.5% 5.8%
school has a negative effect on parent (5) (18) (7) (19) (3)
involvement. The farther away the student lives
from school, the less likely the parent will be
involved in the school.
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this survey show the respondents almost equally split on this question. 42.3% of
the respondents at least agreed that longer distance reduced participation. 44.2% of
School Busing 29
the respondents felt that there was no correlation between distance and
participation while 13.5% had no opinion.
Survey Question #8: School consolidation has caused longer bus rides for
most students. The review of literature showed that school consolidation was a
significant issue with regard to school busing (Bard, Gardner, & Wieland, 2006).
Strongly Disagre No Agree Strongly
Disagre e Opinion Agree
e
School consolidation has caused longer bus 0.0% 21.2% 5.8% 40.4% 32.7%
rides for most students. (0) (11) (3) (21) (11)
Fifty two of fifty two participants responded to this question. The responses
for this survey show that the majority of respondents agreed with this statement.
73.1% of the respondents felt that consolidation has resulted in increased ride times
for students. 21.2% of the respondents disagreed with the statement while 5.8% had
no opinion.
The following graph shows the mean score for all questions. The mean scores
were calculated manually after accounting for the whether or not the question was
worded negatively or positively. These scores show that the most agreement among
the respondents was found with question number 5. The respondents
overwhelmingly felt that behaviors occurring on the bus do spill over into the school
School Busing 30
building environment. The least agreement was found on question 7. The
respondents were fairly split with regard to whether or not distance traveled to and
from school resulted in a decrease in parent involvement.
Question Question Question Question Question Question Question Question
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3.96 3.72 3.83 3.79 4.38 3.53 2.94 3.85
An open ended question asked to the survey respondents was, What effect, if
any, do you believe busing students has had on student participation in extra
curricular/afterschool activities? 67% of the respondents gave answers that were
positive in that they agreed with the statement. A theme that was in many
responses was that the district needed to provide an activity bus that runs later in
the evening to various communities to make it easier on parents to pick up their
children.
The final open ended question was, What type of behaviors on the bus, if any,
do you consider to be a major concern? The two main themes in these answers were
bullying and language. Bullying was the most common concern as it was mentioned
by 61% of the respondents.
School Busing 31
CHAPTER V
Summary
School consolidation has been a movement promoted by political and
educational leaders since the early 1900's. Communities are told that, because of
economies of scale, cost savings and expanded course offerings make consolidation
beneficial to all parties. Because smaller, local schools closed and were combined
into larger, more regional education centers, students who did not live near the
school needed to be transported. Students who live in outlying rural areas
experience the longest rides. Studies reported students in some areas riding buses
up to three hours oneway. Though this was not the norm, rides of over an hour
each way were much more common with one study reporting over 30% of students
who rode the bus riding for more than one hour each way. As a cost saving measure,
students of all ages and grades are placed on the same bus. Studies noted that
discipline issues abound on buses with mixed age levels and long commutes. Survey
respondents indicated that bullying and bad language were issues, especially when
older and younger children rode the same bus.
Busing also affected student participation in extracurricular activities.
Studies noted that students with the longest commute were generally those from
School Busing 32
very rural areas. Other studies noted that students from very rural areas were often
in a lower socioeconomic class than those from urban areas. Parents were also less
likely to be involved in their child's school when the school was a very long way
from home.
Survey respondents felt that busing was a major deterrent to afterschool,
extracurricular participation. The majority of respondents indicated that students
would be less likely to participate in any activity if they lived a significant distance
from the school. Students with working parents were also less likely to be in an
afterschool activity.
Conclusions
What are the perceptions of the staff of Farmington Central with regard to
the effects of school transportation on a student's public school experience? The
respondents to the survey indicated that busing was an issue for Farmington
Central CUSD #265 for several reasons: the ride is too long for many students, staff
has noticed a negative effect on student achievement, and older and younger
students are assigned to ride the same bus. Most of the respondents felt that there
was not adequate supervision on the bus routes. Bullying and bad language were
noted as being issues on buses. Respondents felt that these issues spilled over into
the classroom when they were not handled properly on the bus. Additionally, long
School Busing 33
bus routes seem to be a deterrent to extracurricular participation by students who
have the longest commutes.
Recommendations
As pointed out in most of the research reviewed for this paper, very little
research exists regarding busing. What current research exists mostly discusses
costs, equipment, and logistical planning. Very little research is spent on the human
cost of busing.
Farmington Central CUSD #265 administration needs to study the issue of
busing. The survey respondents generally agreed that issues abound on buses in the
area of discipline, inadequate supervision, and bullying. Research indicates that
busing, which is an extension of the student's school day, does have a direct affect
on the students and their families. Much time is spent examining curriculum.
Perhaps some time should be spent on the bus ride the student experiences each
day before he or she is ever exposed to the curriculum.
School Busing 34
References
Bard, J., Gardener, C., & Wieland, R. (2006, Winter). Rural school consolidation:
History, research summary, conclusions, and recommendations. The Rural
Educator, 27(2), 4048.
Butterworth, J. E. (1945). Rural schools for tomorrow. Yearbook. Department of
Rural Education (National Education Association). Retrieved April 9, 2009
from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED329379)
Coles, A. D. (1997, October 29). School bus drivers trying to keep the peace.
Education Week. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1997/10/29/09drive.h17.html?
tkn=LOTFatE917xzWNTqVRkhKS4RVyLDhPsoCVtY
Howley, A., & Howley, C. (2001). Rural school busing. Charleston, WV: ERIC
Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small School. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED459969)
Jimerson, L. (2007). Slow motion: Traveling by school bus in consolidated districts
in West Virginia. Rural school and community trust. Retrieved April 2, 2009
from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED499440)
Killeen, K., & Sipple, J. (2000). School consolidation and transportation policy: An
empirical and institutional analysis (Working Paper for the Rural and
Community Trust Policy Program). Retrieved April 2, 2009 from ERIC
database. (ERIC Reproduction Document No. ED447979)
Lu, Y., & Tweeten, L. (1973, October). The impact of busing on student
achievement. Growth and Change, 4(4), 4446.
Ramage, R., & Howley, A. (2005). Parents’ perceptions of rural school bus rides. The
Rural Educator, 27(1), 1520.
Solomon, G. M., Campbell, T. R., Feuer, G. R., Masters, J., Samkian, A., & paul, K.
A. (2001). No breathing in the aisles: Diesel exhaust inside school buses.
Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED450878)
School Busing 35
Spence, B. (2000b). Long school bus rides: Their effect on school budgets, family life,
and student achievement. Charleston, WV: AEL, Inc. Retrieved May 12, 2008
from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED448955)
Thurman, S. W. (2000). “A rolling town”: The long school bus ride in a rural
southern Appalachian county. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62(04).
(Publication No. AAT 3012331)
Witham, M. (1997, July). The economics of [not] closing small rural schools. Paper
presented at a Ph.D. symposium for candidates and supervisors: A Focus on
Rural Issues, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Retrieved May 13, 2008
from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED415036)
Zars, B. (1998). Long rides, tough hides: Enduring long school bus rides. Report for
Rural Challenge Policy. Retrieved May 13, 2008 from ERIC database. (ERIC
Document Reproduction Service No. ED43241
School Busing 36
Appendix A: Open Ended Question 1: What effect, if any, do you believe busing
students has had on student participation in extracurricular/afterschool activities?
Has
No
an
effect
effect
I have had several students whose parents
1. use this as an excuse for the student not to x
serve afterschool detentions.
Gas prices continue to flucuate and this is
2. going to stop parents from allowing thier x
children to participate in activities.
If a student is interested in extra or after
3. school activities and his parents support it, x
there won't be a problem with busing.
The farther away the more burden it puts on
x
4. families to make activities especially in harsh
weather.
Students who live farther away do not
5. x
participate in extra curricular activities.
Many can't stay, unless they can be bussed
again later. I have an after school study
6. x
session that some students have wanted to
attend, but can't due to issues with a ride.
Limited some who don't have access to
7. x
transportation or parents work
If there is no "activity bus" participation may
8. x
decrease.
Some students may not be able to
9. participate because of the distance they live x
from school.
10. it is a hardship for students and parents that x
live farther away esp when the student can't
School Busing 37
drive students that live near town have it
easier to go home eat and rest before a
game further bused students may ride
home and have to turn around and come
right back
Probably a decrease b/c if they don't have a
11. x
ride, they can't participate
Although it effects some greatly, those who
12. x
truly want to participate will find a way.
Without afterschool transportation, many
13. students are limited in their ability to x
participate.
Some students are unable to participate for
14. x
that reason.
Since we no longer have after practice
buses, some students can not participate in
15. afterschool activities. Some of their parents x
have to work later and can not pickup the
students on time.
If parents work, younger students may not
16. have transportation home from practices, x
etc.
The district needs to run after school activity
busses. Students can not always participate
17. in those activities because parents are still x
working and are unable to pick up their
student.
I believe some students, in the furthest
reaches of the district or with parents who
can not transport them, are not able to
participate as much as students who are
18. closer. Consolidation has added to this as x
some students were able to walk home after
an activity when the grade schools were
smaller. I believe this problem effects the
grade school/junior high more than the high
School Busing 38
school.
I don't think it's had much of an effect. If the
19. students and their parents really want to be x
involved, busing has nothing to do with it.
Some students do not have rides to practice.
20. x
So they don't get to play.
I believe it has become more of a problem
21. as of late with gas prices being what they x
are
I don't think it is a factor. If students want to
22. participate in extracurriculars, they seem to x
find transportation.
23. None x
24. No effect x
Students that can't get here or there can't do
25. x
sports because of no afterschool buses.
Lot's of effect. They can't stay after school to
26. x
get extra help or participate in activities.
If families live a longer distance from their
student's schools and bus transportation is
27. their only option, I believe there is less x
chance that child will be involved in extra
curricular activities.
28. none x
29. None x
30. None x
I believe that families who want their kids
involved will find ways to get their students
31. x
back and forth to school activities regardless
of the distance.
32. None to my knowlegde. x
33. Many parents work...and students have no x
way of attending school events if they do not
have transportation. Busing students creates
a school district that can include students
who cannot get to school on foot or by
bicycle. This reduces the amount of students
School Busing 39
in afterschool activities.
34. No opinion
35. Little effect x
Very little effect. Those parents that support
36. their students do so regardless of how far x
they live from the school.
Due to parental schedules, some students
37. are prevented from participating in extra x
curricular activities.
If students know the bus is their only way of
transportation, they may not be so likely to
participate in anything after school. Students
38. know more than they let on. They know if x
their family is in a financial crunch and
cannot afford to drive to and from every day
for activities.
I am sure their are some parents who will
39. x
not come to the school to pick up their child.
For some families, busing is the only
transportation available to get children to
and from school. For the student to stay
40. x
after school for practice However, other
parents most often step up to help if the
student truly wants to participate in sports.
Very little, if any. We still have strong
involvement in these activities. We still have
one high school. The new facility with Jr.
41. x
High and High School in one building
probably makes it more convenient for
parents & siblings to participate.
I do not believe busing has had an effect on
student participation. The student
participates but may stay at school later
42. x
because it takes the parent longer to pick
their student up. The participation fee has
had a greater effect than the busing issue.
School Busing 40
Negative. Some students don't have
someone to drive in to pick them up after
43. x
school. Why don't we run a afterschool
activities bus?
Appendix B: Open Ended Question 2: What type of behaviors on the bus, if any, do
you consider to be a major concern?
Weap disres Negative
ons pect example
bull langu
and s
ying age
violen
ce
I have had some students with problems with kids picking
1. x
on them..not always older ones.
Being able to move around not sit in their seats. Younger x
2. children being influenced by older children's behavior and x
language.
Students being bullied. Some language and topics are not
3. x
appropriate.
4. Bullies and really mean bus drivers/monitors x
5. inappropriate language x
6. weapons, bullying x x
7. Inappropriate language, disrespect, bullying x x x
Younger students are witness to negative behaviors x
8.
presented by the older students.
9. Bullying x
10. Language , teasing others , etc. x x
The language and behaviors that the older students are x
11. x
doing is transferred to the younger students.
Younger student exposure to language and poor behavior.
12. Students with potential behavior problems can be set off x
before getting to school.
bad language and subjects from older kids to younger x
13. x x
kids moving around bullying
14. bullying x
The education the younger ones get from the older ones is x
15.
not the kind most should get from school.
16. bullying x
17. use and sharing of illiegal substances x x x
verbal assult
physical threats
18. Physical violence x
19. The bigger kids picking on the smaller ones. x
20. bullying x
Older with younger. I have knowledge of older kids x
tormenting younger ones. In one case the high school
student looked a fourth grader in the eye and said, "I am
21. x
going to kill you." She never rode the bus again. She was
very afraid. Younger students are also learning vulgar
language on the bus.
One big problem is the language which students are using
and to which others are exposed. Younger students have
often had their vocabulary increased in a negative way
22. x x
from students (usually older students) they ride with. I am
also concerned about the threats, teasing, and bullying
that occur since it is hard to monitor.
Inappropriate behaviors between older students and x
younger students...unfortunately some of this gets a little
23. x
crude or sexual. Crude or foul language is also a big
problem!
24. Name calling, making fun of others, pestering, hitting x
Disruptive behavior at a level that distracts the driver and x
25.
this the safety of the students
26. Bullying and harrassment x
27. Swearing; bullying x x
28. Cussing, hitting, bullying x x
29. Bullying x
30 Bullying, language x
31. Hittting, pushing x
32. Hitting, improper language use, sexual harrassment x x
33. bullying x
older students language around younger children. x
34. x
agressive behavior/bullying, rude behavior towards drivers
35. language, bullying x x
36. Bullying There should a monitor on every bus. x
I feel that mixing older and younger students on the bus is
37.
a huge problem that needs to be addressed.
38. bullying x
Fighting, language, anything that takes the driver's x
39. x
concentration off the road.
Violence, bullying, unsafe behavior (getting out of seat, x
40.
jumping, moving while bus is in motion).
41. Getting out of seats. Talking too loud. x
42. Bullying, inappropriate language x x
Bad language by the older students is picked up by the x
43. x
younger students.
44. Physical violence and language. x x
Behavior that affects the driver to take his eyes off the the x
45. road such as: fighting (spiting,hitting cussing), and children
out of their seats.
Bullying, foul language. Bullying being the biggest concern
many students push around the little ones or the quieter
students. I believe many students are traumatized by the
bus ride to and from school that is the hardest part of
46. their day. Especially if they do not have any friends who x x
ride that. You would think that would not be the case as
they should all be friends in the neighborhood so riding the
bus would not be an issue. However, these days, families
are kind of isolated with both parents working, etc.
47. What is in those water bottles?
48. Bullying and the language of the older students. x x x
49. cursing, bullying x x
