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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Question: Should middle-schoolers be forced to walk up to 1.5 miles to school?

SILVER SPRING, Md. (ABC7) — A group of passionate parents is attempting to poke holes in a Montgomery County Public Schools policy, which denies bus service to certain students.

The policy states that elementary students living less than one mile from school grounds will not get bussed to-or-from class. The distance threshold is set at one-and-a-half miles for middle schoolers, and two miles for high schoolers.

Madiaw Diop and his wife have three children in the MCPS system. They live in a basic apartment complex along Glenville Road, approximately one mile from Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring.

The walk to EMS, which includes crossing busy University Boulevard East, takes roughly 20 minutes door-to-door. In addition to time, Diop says frigid temperatures, oppressive heat, rain and unshoveled sidewalks make the daily trek dangerous.

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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is from the same area that had social services take children from a home for allowing them to walk home from a public park. Double standard that shows parents are losing their rights as to how to raise their child, because the government knows better.

Anonymous said...

The kids can use the exercise. And the "elements" ... probably better lessons, training and character building for real life than most of the schrooling !
Have them walk. We did.

Anonymous said...

Me too. And I turned out smart, good looking and humble!

Anonymous said...

Same here. Snow, uphill and without shoes.

Can be dangerous though. Studies show doing so can contribute to self reliant conservatism.

Anonymous said...

Don't let them walk because then you might get charged by a cop for endangering your kids, like that one family did for letting their kid walk to the park which was only 1,200 feet away from their home...

Anonymous said...

It's not too far to walk in all sorts of weather but they need toake sure it's safe for the kids. Enforce codes requiring sidewalks to be kept clear,etc.

Anonymous said...

No....not now! When I was in school in the 60's this would have been widely accepted and would not have been an issue....today....wouldn't want my kids walking down any street with the baby thugs and dope heads running around today.

Anonymous said...

I had to walk uphill both ways!

Anonymous said...

Yep, when they go walking around the mall with their friends, they walk that far, so walking to school won't hurt them.

Anonymous said...

I walked to both of my elementary schools. It's not a big deal...just add some crossing guards.

Anonymous said...

In dorchester md i life across the street from the middle school and watch kids get on the bus to go ACROSS the street while my kids WALK.

Anonymous said...

THEY WHERE 5 YO IDIOT AND NOT SUPERVISED.

Anonymous said...

Just in
Navy just fired warning shots at iranian military.

Anonymous said...

Not in this society they shouldn't.

Anonymous said...

If people are going to have children you have to make sure YOU care for their needs!

Anonymous said...

Walking to school even in good weather is dangerous for those kids whose faces are glued to a smartphone everywhere they walk.

Anonymous said...

Yes they should.

I will tell you something else that our Transportation services department should do in our BOE. They should discontinue the practice of picking students up at their front door. The kids should walk to the closest bus stop within 1.5 miles and get picked up there. Can you imagine how much money that would save the BOE on maintenance alone? It would save fuel and time and it is well worth consideration.

Anonymous said...

This.

Railroad Ave in Pittsville is the worst. Every driveway for 6 stops, the kids are 15 ft from one another. I have never seen anything like it.