BOSTON (WHDH) - The first bell of the school year has rung in Boston, with students back in class and new offerings designed to make traveling to school safer and more efficient.
“We love the first day of school, there’s nothing like seeing all the big smiles all around,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a Boston elementary school.
Wu and Superintendent of Boston Public Schools Mary Skipper were at the Joseph Lee School in Dorchester Thursday morning to greet students and hand out pencils to kick off the new academic year.
“We’re really in a very solid place with the start of the school year, preparations around staffing, around transportation, around academics, around family engagement,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said. “I feel really proud of this team and really grateful.”
Students and parents matched the mayor’s enthusiasm.
“I feel good,” parent Iris Dominguez said. “I feel great because they’re going to be good and I know this year is going to be awesome.”
Dominguez’s daughter Ashley said she was especially excited to see her friends.
“I know there’s going to be a lot of new students here,” Ashley said. “So then I’m just excited to make new friends and see my friends.”
“I’m excited,” another young student told 7News. “I think my teacher’s gonna be a nice teacher. Math is my favorite subject.”
The administration this year introduced Zum technology platform, which allows parents to view their students’ bus assignment, track their child’s bus in real time, receive automated delay notifications and ETAs, and monitor drop off status.
“We’re really trying to enhance this year, communication with parents, safe and reliable transportation,” Superintendent of Boston Public Schools Mary Skipper said. “So far this morning we feel pretty good. There are buses on the road, everything being covered and fully staffed with drivers.”
With appropriate permissions, school administrators can also track buses and account for traffic conditions and absent or delayed students.
Mayor Michelle Wu also announced the opening of the new City Academy training facility in partnership with UMass Boston. The facility will be used to train participants in City Academy’s commercial driver’s license track to support the training of BPS school bus drivers and the new CDL water utilities track.
Before this, CDL participants have had to travel to Tewksbury to receive training. The new facility will be able to train 120 drivers annually, addressing a critical city work force need.
The city said these changes should make travel to school more efficient.
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