Dear Parents,
We hope you are enjoying the final days of summer. As we approach September, thoughts turn to the start of the 2023-24 school year. The team has been busy preparing to welcome our students back on buses. Before that happens, the Transportation team would like to share a few updates and reminders.
Confirming Routes and Stops
All of the updates to the routes and stops are nearly complete. All families will receive an email no later than Wednesday, August 30, with stop locations and estimated pick-up and drop-off times. Please take a moment to review the assignments and confirm they reflect your elections. If the routes and/or stops are incorrect, please contact the Transportation Office at transportation@potomacschool.org or call 703-749-6353.
SchoolPass App
SchoolPass will continue to play an essential role in helping to manage transportation and attendance. Student AM and PM default route/stop locations will be updated in SchoolPass by the end of this week. Families will receive an automatically generated email from SchoolPass notifying them when this update has been completed. Families new to Potomac will receive an invitation to set up their SchoolPass account by noon on Wednesday.
The Transportation Team kindly asks that families use SchoolPass to make any changes to their student’s regularly scheduled transportation. We are specifically asking families with students enrolled in extracurricular activities to update SchoolPass to reflect their student’s use of late shuttles and late bus routes. The app is the best tool to communicate changes to scheduled transportation as the system will automatically e-mail division Administrative Assistants and transportation staff, informing them of any change. Valuable SchoolPass tutorial videos can be found on the Transportation page of CampusNET. Clear and early notification of changes helps limit disruptions or delays. As a reminder, the cut-off times for day of changes are: Arrival 7:00 am, Dismissal 12:30 pm. Adherence to these deadlines ensures that the bus drivers will have accurate rosters. Any changes needed after the cut-off time must be made by speaking directly with your division Administrative Assistant.
Safety
For riders new to busing and as a general reminder to all students, please take the time to review and share with your student the Behavior on Buses and at Bus Stops found in the 2023-24 Parent and Student Handbook (page 8). Student behavior is an important component of safe bus operations and will continue to be an area of focus for the upcoming school year. The safety of all students on and around the bus depends upon a common awareness and strict adherence to safety guidelines. In addition to sharing expectations with parents and students, the Transportation team will partner with administrators, deans, and counselors to foster a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable ride for all students.
Limited Carpool
Potomac must adhere to zoning agreements with Fairfax County and neighboring communities by limiting vehicle access to campus for carpool to kindergartners and their siblings and seniors who drive and their siblings. Kindergarteners and any Lower, Middle, or Intermediate School students riding with an authorized kindergarten/senior sibling must be dropped off only at the Lower School Entrance.
Junior Drivers
Juniors who drive will park at the Trinity United Methodist Church again this year (1205 Dolley Madison Blvd). Upper School staff will coordinate sign-up and issue parking hang tags. Free shuttles will be available for arrival, dismissal, and late runs. The estimated arrival and departure times will be available when stop/route information is shared by email.
Campus Infrastructure Updates
Over the summer, Potomac has enhanced some of its campus infrastructure. Barrier gates have been added at the main entrance and exit to help monitor campus access and will be operational during off-peak hours. In addition, speed humps have been added in a few locations to help reduce vehicle speeds on campus.
Communication
The Transportation team is excited to start the school year. Brian Newhouse enters his third year as the Director of Transportation, Katherine Stemler continues in her role as Transportation Operations Manager, and Emmanuel Buggs enters his first full year as the Operations Assistant. Emmanuel joined the team in May 2023 and has proven to be a valuable addition. We are committed to communicating all relevant information in a timely manner. Please do not hesitate to contact us at transportation@potomacschool.org or 703-873-6353 if you have any questions or concerns.
We continue to support GPS Tracking/Automatic Vehicle Location of our fleet. Instructions to access the app that provides real-time vehicle tracking and location information can be found on CampusNET. If you need assistance with SchoolPass, bus tracking, or have any other transportation-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Transportation Office.
First Days and Area Construction
The transportation system operated by Potomac is unique, complex, and robust. The team is building on lessons learned from the 2022-23 school year to continue to meet the transportation needs of our students and families. In the face of a continued region-wide bus driver shortage, we continue to work diligently on driver recruitment and retention.
We want to remind everyone of the significant construction occurring on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Incidents and accidents on the parkway may result in delays and/or disruptions. Additionally, we have been witnessing traffic congestion levels increasing throughout the region. Please plan enough time to get to stop locations 4 to 5 minutes prior to estimated departures. In the first week or so of school, we should expect some delayed buses in the morning and afternoon as we all (parents, students, drivers, staff) adjust and settle in.
Thank you in advance for your support as we adapt to current conditions and make necessary refinements to our service to meet your expectations.
We look forward to greeting your students on the buses for their first day of school!
The Potomac School Transportation Team
