Lesson 1: Figuring out a new bus route

It’s the kind of challenge that can keep a bus driver up at night.

With 1,000 grade school students being bused to 16 different schools for the first time Tuesday, there are bound to be problems.

In an effort to make the first day of school go more smoothly for the students who will spend the year in a new school due to construction, Spokane Public Schools arranged a practice run Friday morning.

These are the children whose elementary schools are being torn down and rebuilt this school year. Students from Lincoln Heights, Ridgeview and Lidgerwood are being dispersed among 16 district elementary schools.

Organizers estimated that about half the students took part in the voluntary practice run Friday morning.

On the South Hill, fourth-grader Emily Mitchell waited with her mom and younger brother on the street near their house. Whenever she heard a bus in the distance she would run over and pounce on the orange school bus icon painted on the street.

“They’ve never ridden a bus before,” said Emily’s mother, Gretchen Mitchell. “I think it’s going to be good for them to experience.”

Mitchell had been concerned because she has two Lincoln Heights Elementary children – one who will be bused to Moran Prairie, the other to Sheridan Elementary. She was relieved when a letter from the district showed that the bus stops were within 50 feet.

“They’re excited,” Mitchell said.

Both her children woke up early on their own to be ready for the practice bus ride.

Some students in Friday’s practice run were unloaded in front of their buildings, where they got a close look at their school before getting a bus ride back.

Other students, such as those heading for Sheridan, stayed on the bus and waved to the Lincoln Heights teachers they recognized. More than 50 teachers were gathered outside the school to greet students with waves and smiles.

Principal Don Warner stepped onto the bus and walked down the row asking everyone’s name.

“We’re here to welcome you to the Sheridan family,” Warner said. “We’re going to have fun.”

After several minutes, Laidlaw driver Don Comstock fired up the bus and drove students back up the hill to their homes.

“This is great. They’re really quiet,” Comstock said. About a dozen children sat on the bus. Three small girls shared a bench seat with room to spare.

Noelle Williamson waited on the street for her son to return from Hamblen Elementary. As co-president of the Lincoln Heights parent-teacher group, she plans to post herself near the bus site every morning.

“I’ll see all of you on Tuesday,” Williamson said as she waved to children she knew on the bus.