An early start to the school year means that the end of the first quarter is already upon us. It was fantastic to be in-person five days a week and to experience uninterrupted extra-curricular activities during the fall season. Even though we have been thrown a few curve balls at the beginning of the school year, we remain hopeful that there will be a time in the not-to-distant future when the district and our schools can operate more like pre-pandemic days.
As we all recharge and reenergize over the fall break next week, Triad’s talented teachers and staff will be ready to jump right into the second quarter on October 18th when school resumes. Parent-teacher conferences are not far off -- November 1st from 12:00 to 7:30 and November 12th from 8:00 to 3:30. This year more than ever before, we hope that you will take advantage of this valuable opportunity to talk with teachers about the progress of your students. Watch for updates from building principals for more information about parent-teacher conferences.
District Transportation - Bus Driver Shortage
Families who depend on the district’s bus service to and from school need to be aware that Triad’s bus driver shortage may begin impacting our regular transportation services. While Triad employs stand-by and substitute bus drivers, the possibility exists that in the coming weeks and months, there will be days where individual bus routes could be delayed due to a lack of drivers. If a situation occurs where no one is available to drive a normal daily bus route, parents with students on that route would be notified via text message early in the morning with this information. If this occurs, depending on the route, parents would have the option to:
Drive their student to school
Drop their student off at a centralized area location to be picked up and taken to school by a different bus (the text message would include the drop off locations)
Have their student picked up from the normal bus stop at a later time (the text message would include the approximate time).
While it is still planned to continue regular bus service to every student every day, we want to put parents on notice regarding the bus driver shortage. If Triad would get into a situation where there were multiple drivers absent daily that could not be replaced, an emergency routing system would be put into place which would involve less bus stops throughout the district in order to consolidate routes.
If you are aware of anyone who might be interested in being a full-time, part-time, or substitute bus driver for the Triad School District, please contact transportation director Kevin McGraw for more information at kevin.mcgraw@tcusd2.org. Hourly rates for drivers start at $18/hour with an additional sign-on bonus.
Don’t forget that in addition to being the last day of the first quarter, Friday is also a half-day of attendance with an early release time for all students. Have a safe and healthy weekend and fall break!