Walking School Bus connects Tulsa students to safer school routes

Getting to school safely is not always a given for some Tulsa students. At Savanna Landing Apartments, families faced challenges with transportation and safety that impacted school attendance.

Now, thanks to Impact Tulsa, South Tulsa Community House, and a group of committed parents, a creative solution known as the "Walking School Bus" is helping students arrive at Marshall Elementary safely and on time.

How the Walking School Bus Works

The Walking School Bus is a human-powered version of a traditional school bus. Instead of boarding a bus, students walk along a set route from Savanna Landing to Marshall Elementary, led by adult volunteers.

Impact Tulsa leaders said that safety concerns are a major factor contributing to chronic absenteeism at Marshall, and the Walking School Bus aims to change that.

Parents Step Up to Lead the Way

Two walkers currently guide students to school from Savanna Landing. Samantha Glass, a parent and volunteer walker, says the program has made a difference not only for her own children but for others in the community.

“I’m just glad I could help other people’s kids get to school safely and make sure that they’re there because, like they said, attendance is a big thing,” Glass said. “There was a day or two they missed, but I changed it when I joined the Walking School Bus because they gave me something to look forward to — my kids, too.”

Impact on Attendance

Ana Barros, director of collaboration and partnerships at Impact Tulsa, says the early results are encouraging.

“I know that every single kid that has been participating in the Walking School Bus has been to school every day, which was not the case before,” Barros said. “We hope to see an increase at the end of this year, but obviously we started late enough that you might not see like a dramatic increase.”

Expanding the Program Across Tulsa

The success at Marshall Elementary has organizers hoping to grow the program. Schools like Kendall Whittier and Sequoyah have already used similar Walking School Buses with positive results.

Impact Tulsa and South Tulsa Community House hope to recruit more volunteer walkers and extend the program to other schools across the district that need it.

"Our goal is to sort of have a model that could be shifted and adapted to any school that have children who need help getting to school every day," Marissa Ramsey, the program development director at South Tulsa Community House, said.

Ramsey also said parents interested in becoming walkers go through an interview process regarding their interest in the program, the connections they have to the school and then a background check.

After that, the parent can then be matched with the children on a route and start walking them to school.

How to Get Involved

Anyone interested in becoming a walker or learning more about the Walking School Bus program can visit their website.