What All Parents and Caregivers Need to Know

Activity Bus Information

Ms. Pearson has collaborated with Transportation Services to provide a later bus for Montlake students who are participating in the PTA’s After School Enrichment Program and in Launch. This Activity Bus will load students at 4:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and at 3:00 pm on Wednesday. The bus will depart the John Marshall building at 4:15 pm (3:15 pm Wednesdays) and return students to GLSA childcare or one of five stops in the Montlake neighborhood.

Please read the following information carefully. You are responsible for being at your child’s bus stop and communicating any changes to your student’s transportation schedule as early as possible. We must all work together to make this bus run smoothly and safely so that the bus will continue to run while we are at the John Marshall building.

Transportation Schedule. Your child will be given a transportation schedule that will show their planned bus routes for each day of the week. This will be your confirmation that your child is indeed taking the Activity Bus. Please review your student’s schedule carefully. If you see any errors in the schedule, please email [email protected]. We will coordinate with Transportation Services to make changes and we will work with Montlake staff to ensure your student is on the right bus each day. (Note that this schedule uses “T” to indicate Tuesday and “H” to indicate Thursday. “TH” means Tuesday and Thursday.) 

Activity Bus Stops. Your student’s bus stop for the Activity Bus is most likely not the same stop as their regular bus. These are the stops for the Activity Bus in order. If you need to make a change to your student’s assigned bus stop, please first email [email protected] for guidance. The arrival times are very rough estimates.
 - N 65TH ST @ 1ST AVE NE [SW] (GLSA) at 4:18 pm (3:18 pm Wednesdays)
 - E LOUISA ST @ FRANKLIN AVE E [NE] at 4:34 pm (3:34 pm Wednesdays)
 - E EDGAR ST @ 11TH AVE E [NE] at 4:38 pm (3:38 pm Wednesdays)
 - 10TH AVE E @ E MILLER ST [NW] at 4:40 pm (3:40 pm Wednesdays)
 - E MCGRAW ST@20TH AVE E [SE] at 5:00 pm (4:00 pm Wednesdays)
 - 25TH AVE E @ E LOUISA ST [E] at 5:05 pm (4:15 pm Wednesdays) 

Early Bus Arrivals. Be prepared for the bus to arrive early. Please plan to be at your student’s bus stop at least 15 minutes early, especially if the Zum app is not yet operational for your student and you are not able to track the progress of the bus. The bus driver will skip a stop if there are no students being dropped off at a particular stop that day. So, your student could be dropped off at varying times throughout the week.

Monitor the Bus. You will be able to monitor your student’s route in the Zum app. For this initial list of students on the Activity Bus, the app should be operational on Wednesday, October 4th.

Pick-up Plans. Please have an adult meet your student at their bus stop. Soon, the Activity Bus will be operating in the dark and we don’t want students walking long distances at that time. Plan to introduce yourself to other parents at your student’s stop so that you can make a backup plan for pick-up if you will be late.

Launch Students. Students in Launch may take the Activity Bus even if not enrolled in enrichment classes. The Launch staff will load their students onto the Activity Bus and they will sign them out. If Launch students do take an enrichment class, they will be returned to Launch before boarding the bus. For changes in pick-up plans for Launch students, please contact Launch directly.

Changes to Schedule. The Activity Bus provides a convenience to parents and guardians. Please be mindful that changes to the schedule must be communicated correctly and in a timely manner. Read and follow these guidelines to ensure the safety of your student and that the Activity Bus can operate smoothly for everyone.

      - Pick up instead of Activity Bus. If you will pick up your student after enrichment classes instead of having your student take the Activity Bus, please send an email to [email protected] before regular dismissal (2:25 pm MTThFr, 1:10 pm W).  Please communicate what time you will pick up your student.  Your student will meet you at the pick-up area described in the Enrichment Program Parent Guidelines.

     -  Pick up at school dismissal. If your student plans to miss their enrichment class, but will be present during the regular school day, we strongly encourage you to pick them up at school dismissal. You will need to email [email protected] and [email protected] by 7:45 am to communicate the plan to pick up your student. Regular bus instead of Activity Bus. If your student needs to take their regular bus home because they will not attend their enrichment class that day, please send an email to Montlake staff at [email protected] and to [email protected] by 7:45 am. Please try to limit this kind of change to your student’s schedule. Getting your child on a different bus than planned requires a lot of staff coordination. Please pick them up at school, rather than requesting they take their regular bus, if you are able.

      - Last-minute changes. If your student decides at the end of the school day that they do not want to participate in their after school enrichment class, then the enrichment coordinator will contact you to pick up your student. Students cannot be put on their regular bus when scheduled to take the Activity Bus without timely communication with parents/guardians.

      - Launch student changes. If your student is in Launch and you need to make a change to their schedule, please contact Launch and Montlake staff as you normally would.

Questions? Please email [email protected]. Thank you, in advance, for your patience and cooperation.