Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff.

As you prepare to break for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I have some good news to share!

Parallel to our rigorous academic goals for this school year, the District faces two immediate challenges - budget and bus transportation. After months of hard work from our Transportation Department, I can say with confidence the District is prepared to return to full bus service beginning Monday, December 5. The cohort system will dissolve at that time.

We have successfully onboarded 50+ new bus drivers since the start of the school year. They have answered the call and joined our team of already committed bus drivers and attendants. The recent increase in wages will pay transportation staff more competitively for the important work they do, and will help with driver retention. 

We arrived at our plan to end the cohort model by reimagining transportation services. A new plan will change how routes weave together a tapestry of transportation around the Anchorage bowl. The grid bus drivers follow to criss-cross around town will become more efficient by having fuller buses. 

A few things for you to know to help your family prepare for the return to full service: 

• Route numbers will be different and there will be new pick-up and/or drop-off times. 
• Pick-up and drop-off times for your student may be adjusted up to 10-20 minutes give or take. 
• Your bus stop details will be communicated via Parent Connect starting December 1.

The new process combines routes with low ridership. With fuller buses and less buses on the road, this will improve our pick-up and drop-off schedule, improve maintenance expenses, and use less fuel in the long run. 

This reimagined bus route system is step one in our long-term efficiency transportation plan. Step two is expected to launch in February 2023 with a new software system. Step three will be working with our Special Education Department to reconfigure transportation based on inclusivity. 

To summarize, this is our first big step towards long term transportation solutions. Remember to check Parent Connect starting next Thursday, December 1. To stay up to date on information, please visit our Transportation page with the latest information.

Finally, I am immensely grateful to you. Our staff, students, parents, and our community for prioritizing education and collaborating to get students to school safely and on time every day. 

Sincerely,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Anchorage School District

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Good afternoon!

As we prepare to switch to Cohort 2 on Monday, here are a few things to know before you go.

• Cohort 2: Bus routes #39-77
• Bus routes #200 and higher: No interruption. Bus transportation continues
• Special education: No interruption. Bus transportation continues
• Be extra safe and vigilant on the roads in our campus communities 

At a glance, the majority of the cohorts are in ridership. The average daily ridership as of the first week of November is 15,517 out of 22,000 eligible riders and 202 out of 228 routes are active. Incremental increases will continue throughout November. The District continues to make strong strides in hiring bus drivers.

This month the Anchorage School Board approved the General Teamsters Local 959 contract, covering bus drivers and bus attendants, which will establish terms and conditions of employment for individuals in this unit during the period between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025. The new contract offers a significant pay increase for bus drivers and attendants. The District anticipates the increase in pay to attract retention and new interested persons. Additionally, Reliant Transportation is offering a $5,000 hiring bonus. 

If you are interested or know of anyone interested in becoming an ASD bus driver, click here to apply. At this time, we’ve hired 50 new bus drivers. These are people who applied solely to help. Thank you!

Speaking of thank you, we can’t thank you enough! Your resiliency and assistance continues to make a huge difference during this challenging and critical time. With parent teacher conferences, a snow day, asynchronous day, and tomorrow’s in-service day, we know you’ve juggled, adjusted, and planned ahead. As educators and parents ourselves, we understand uninterrupted routines during regular school days are critical. Solving the transportation staffing shortage remains a top priority. 

For the latest information on our bus transportation plan, click here.

Reminder, schools are closed tomorrow.

Have a good weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday!

-Team ASD

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Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff,

Happy Friday! I write to you with optimism as we prepare to switch to transportation cohort three on Monday, Oct. 3. 

We are starting to reap the benefits of a robust training program; each week we gain momentum as we onboard more drivers and reinstate routes.

For example, over the next week or so we anticipate up to nine new routes will be added. As of today, 172 out of 228 routes are in full service. More than 30 drivers are currently in training. Every time a route is added, it’s a return of permanent transportation to a group of riders and ease of traffic congestion in that area of the community.  

On Monday, when we switch to cohort three, drivers should expect heavier traffic around Begich, Wendler, Goldenview, Romig, and Hanshew middle schools, along with Bartlett, Service, East, West, and South high schools. If possible, community members at large should avoid these areas during drop-off and pick-up times (7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.). 

We were hopeful to be within arm’s reach of an end to the cohort system by October. There will unfortunately be a setback in this trajectory. This is a delay but not a defeat. We have a large training pool, we are still accepting applications for bus drivers, and hiring incentives are in place.

Since the start of the driver shortage, the District has been future-planning to avoid a similar driver shortage scenario. I’m happy to share within the coming weeks we will be implementing a new routing software that will ensure operational efficiencies.

Other long term solutions we will consider include better inclusion practices for riders and a possible change to school start/stop times as soon as next school year that would result in massive efficiencies. 

These are all really exciting changes. Some will come sooner; some will take time. 

Thanks for doing your part to help students get to and from school safely. September is Attendance Awareness Month. As of this week our daily attendance rate is sitting at 91%, up from 87% for last year. The percentage of students who are attending 90% of the time has increased from last year’s 54% to this school year’s 68%.

I appreciate your efforts and support of our students. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Anchorage School District

 

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Good afternoon, ASD families and staff!

I have new information to share about solutions to our bus driver shortage crisis.

I’m really excited to share today, the District and our partners at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) have solidified an agreement to allow active duty Airmen with the 673rd Logistics Readiness Squadron to transport students who attend school on base for the next 90 days. The drivers are already in training with ASD and will be ready to go by Sept. 1.

Just with this partnership alone, we’ll have an additional four drivers on the streets.

We are on track to be fully staffed between now and October with these current trends and developments. However, we are still in need of bus driver applicants. 

We currently have 162 bus drivers active on routes and 25 more in training. We are currently interviewing 21 potential candidates. Additionally, we will have 17 late return drivers joining us by Sept. 19. We are offering new bus drivers up to $2,500 extra and new bus attendants up to $500 extra for the first semester of the 2022-23 school year. To learn more about becoming a bus driver, click here.

As new drivers continue to onboard, we have followed route reinstatement priorities to add drivers, buses, and student passengers back onto routes. We consider safety, student needs, and efficiency when reinstating routes.

In addition to bus drivers, you will soon see new faces at your crosswalk and on your student’s bus. Almost 2,000 people have signed up to volunteer at ASD. Most of the applicants want to help as bus attendants and crossing guards. These efforts are being led in partnership with our Anchorage School Business Partnership program. This is a tremendous response from our neighbors, and I am overjoyed to see the community step forward. Thank you!

We’ve made progress in alleviating some of the traffic congestion. Since the start of school, we have teamed up with our transportation partners at the Municipality of Anchorage and the State of Alaska to identify areas with the heaviest congestion and make changes. For example, the intersection of Abbott and Elmore traffic flow has become 30 minutes quicker than last week.

With the understanding that this is both a systemic issue and a national issue, I have launched a third-party audit of operations to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This includes the possible use of a new, state-of-the-art routing software. All options remain on the table, including school start times, as the effect could free up more drivers. More to come on that as we research possibilities. 

Finally, on Monday, September 12, we will make the switch to Cohort 2. You can expect new information from us next week on what this means for traffic and bus routes. In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date via our bus transportation FAQ webpage. We’ve added new information.

Thank you for your patience and kindness during this challenging time. Across the community I’ve seen and heard stories of folks working together to get our students to and from school safely. Thank you to the entire Anchorage community for helping our young people prioritize their education and attendance. This team approach is what makes Anchorage great.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, Ed. D.
Superintendent
Anchorage School District

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Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff,

It’s always a huge challenge to start a school year as smoothly as possible. For you, it was even more challenging given the circumstances these last four weeks or so. I am very proud of our community’s resilience. How ALL of you stepped up, in the spirit of partnership, to help was nothing short of amazing! Our schools are full and feel alive again! Our students and staff arrived and departed schools safely! I saw it myself as I visited multiple schools yesterday. THANK YOU!

With that said, we still have much work to do to get us back to full bus service. There are many things we learned yesterday that worked and didn’t work. We are constantly reviewing all the information, including your feedback, and making the needed improvements.

We are excited to tell you four more drivers are hitting the street next week. It brings the total number of new bus drivers to seven. This is fantastic news! Please know new drivers are added to the rotating bus routes according to our route reinstatement priorities, which include safety, student needs, and efficiency. Once a route is reinstated, our transportation team contacts families directly as quickly as possible. Families are our priority. Hang in there.

There is much misinformation being posted on social media. Please be mindful of what you share and/or believe. Our bus transportation webpage is the best source of information. Please continue to check it daily. The FAQ page is a great resource! If you have any questions or feedback, please contact your individual school. They are always happy to help.

Let’s keep working together in partnership. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We can and will get through this together.

Have a wonderful weekend! It’s the start of the Alaska State Fair! We will see you on Monday!

Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, Ed. D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

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Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff,

We are happy to share with you that three new bus drivers will be hitting the streets next week! It may seem small given that we are still 70 drivers short, but it’s a win nonetheless in our efforts to get back to full service. Great news! 

As we stated yesterday, where our new drivers are assigned will be based on our route reinstatement priorities. Those top priorities are safety, student needs, and efficiency. In the meantime, more than 50 potential drivers remain in the hiring and training process.

Drop-off and pick-up of students to school tomorrow will be different and challenging. As you make your way to our schools, please keep safety top of mind. The volume of pedestrians and vehicles making the trek to schools will be heavy. We have coordinated with our partners at the Anchorage Police Department to make it as safe and smooth as possible.

Please review these school zone safety tips:

• Wear reflective tape/clothing while walking to/waiting at bus stops.   

• Carpool when possible.

• Cell phone use in school zones is prohibited, with a $500 fine.

• Have your vehicle seats clear so your student can easily enter the vehicle. 

• Drop your student off as close to the school as possible so they do not have to cross streets.

• Make sure your student enters and leaves the vehicle on the curb side. 

• Merge from the drop-off/pick-up zone as quickly as possible. 

• Try to hold conversations in the parking lot or elsewhere.

• Avoid using handicapped parking spaces to pick up your student unless you have a designated permit. 

• Do not double park or stop on crosswalks.

Let’s work together to make sure our students get to and from school safely.

This WILL be a fantastic school year! The energy, the positivity, and sincere desire to return to something that feels like normal is sky high. Our ASD community is resilient, and we are ALL ready for our schools to reopen and for learning to take place.

Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, Ed. D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff, 

We continue to actively work to address our bus transportation crisis for short, immediate, and long term.

As of today, August 16th, our numbers are unchanged from yesterday. Recruiting, hiring, and training continue full steam ahead. However, it looks like we could get close to 20 drivers returning after the tourist season wraps next month. Great news and fingers crossed!

We have been receiving many questions about our hiring process and why CDL drivers aren’t hitting the street faster. It’s all about training and meeting federal requirements. It takes a few weeks to make sure our drivers know the rules and have the ability to transport our students SAFELY to school and back again. A CDL is a big plus but still requires training. The most urgent thing we can do is hire more bus drivers and bus attendants. With more, we will begin to restore our levels of bus service to you. We’ve added this to our FAQ page.

Also, our route reinstatement priorities remain the same. The top priorities are safety, student needs, and efficiency. We’ve already been able to make some of those efficiency improvements. Those families are receiving direct communication from our transportation team. 

In the meantime, a review process of how we got into this situation is already in motion. This will include, among other things, dissecting our transportation processes and logistics so that our transportation teams have a blueprint for better success. More to come.

I want to thank our families, staff, and community for lending their support, ideas, and networks to us. We are thoroughly reviewing and vetting all options. 

Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff,

I hope you had a great day!

Thank you for your continued feedback about the bus driver shortage and rotating bus routes schedule. Your input is important.

The District has updated its student transportation FAQ page with new information as a result of your feedback. For example, there is now a section about the status of hiring and training progress. This will help you understand how the District’s efforts to find bus drivers and bus attendants are going. Right now, more than 50 people have applied and are in the middle of the hiring process. Also, as of today, there are almost 160 bus routes covered out of more than 225. There is still a long way to go but the District is making great progress. ASD will update this useful information on a daily basis.

Right now, solving this problem is my top priority. All options remain on the table for solutions and the Administration is extensively exploring additional recommendations. We also continue to engage and meet with community partners for help. I hope to have an update on some of those soon. In the meantime, please work with your individual schools about routes and/or Q ParentConnect.

I am proud of our community and our staff for stepping up for our students. Thank you! I know how much of a hardship this may be for you.

Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

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Good afternoon, ASD Families and Staff.

The District has new information to share regarding the rotating bus route schedule.  Your child’s bus information for the start of the school year is now viewable in Q ParentConnect. 

All General Education students eligible for transportation services will be affected by the rotating bus route schedule, which will begin the first day of school, August 18.

Here is a breakdown of rotating bus routes:

• Cohort means the group of buses receiving transportation for the assigned three weeks.
• • Cohort 1 (Bus #1-38) will receive bussing August 18 – September 9
  • Cohort 2 (Bus #39-77) will receive bussing September 12 – September 30
  • Cohort 3 (Bus #78-116) will receive bussing October 3 – October 20

If you have any questions about your student’s route or how to log into Q ParentConnect, please contact your child’s school directly. Front office staff are equipped to take your calls and can assist you.

A glimmer of good news to share–we’ve had an uptick in new applicants interested in joining our fleet, saying they want to help the effort to get our students to school. A number of additional new drivers are in training since my last message earlier this week.

Please know we are not leaving any stone unturned to fix this problem. I understand the rotating bus route service is a burden on families. Our goal is to stand down the bus route rotations as soon as we are able. This is a temporary solution. I’ve spent time this week meeting with community partners to look at how we can engage additional community resources to come to a long-term solution.

I’d like to give my most sincere thank you to families who have pulled together to begin organizing carpools, to those who have answered our call for drivers, and to our staff who have pivoted to help implement this large logistical lift. This community has rolled up its sleeves and is willing to do what it takes for our students to have a successful school year.

Please continue to check the website and FAQ page for new information. I will also continue to send text and email messages as needed. Thank you for your patience; I know how much of a hardship this may be for you.

Best,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

 

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Dear ASD Families,

First, I want to thank you for your patience. We understand this situation directly impacts you and your ability to plan.

Next Thursday is the first day of school and you need to know what we can share at this time. Please understand that as soon as I was informed of the potential severity, I wanted you to know what I knew and I sent you a letter on August 3rd. It’s vital that you have as much information as we can deliver. 

Even though we continue to make progress retaining more and hiring new bus drivers, the situation isn’t improving fast enough. This will require adjustments to transportation service district-wide. That will happen in tandem with continuing to recruit staff and working towards restoring the level of service that our families expect in their school system.

Our District faces a severe shortage of bus drivers. Staff recruitment and retention is a national and growing problem across school districts. ASD is thinking outside of the box to find short-term and intermediate solutions. The District has implemented aggressive recruitment strategies, and they are starting to pay off. However, with the start of school a week away, we need to plan for the reality of today.

At this time, the District is unable to provide full-time bussing for all eligible students. The most equitable solution is to implement a Rotating Bus Route Plan. This will impact all general education students eligible for transportation services. This includes our JBER schools-this community is our highest priority to return to full service as soon as possible, given the disruptions and challenges they currently face with the Ursa Major Relocation Project. Special Education transportation will not be impacted at this time. 

All general education routes will be divided into three cohorts and provided bussing on a planned rotation. Each student cohort will receive three consecutive weeks of transportation. This means there will be six weeks between bus service for each cohort of routes. Additionally, routes have been condensed for efficiency, therefore students will be walking farther to bus stops than in prior years.

Bus route and cohort information will be available to families on Q ParentConnection by Saturday afternoon, Aug. 13 at 5 p.m.

The following web pages will be regularly updated to keep you informed with the latest information:

Transportation Hot Topics Page

Available Aug. 13: Find your route and cohort information on Parent Connect

Transportation Rotation Bus Route Plan FAQs 

We continue to work on solutions and that includes outreaching to our partners including the mayor’s office, who we met with this morning, for additional support through this crisis. I would like to make a community ask and a call to action for public service. You can support this community crisis in one of the following ways:

• Become a bus driver. If you or anyone you know would like to join our bus driver team, apply here.

• Carpool. Families can assist by carpooling to reduce student pick-up and drop-off congestion.

• Drive safe! I cannot emphasize enough how important it will be to look out for walkers; avoid main roads where schools are located during drop-off and pick-up times if possible.

These vacancies are not unique to Anchorage but they are something we need to tackle boldly. The District is committed to a successful year ahead and keeping our community informed as we address staffing challenges.

Best,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

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Dear ASD Families and Staff,

Thank you for your patience. We understand the bus driver shortage in our Transportation Department directly impacts our families as you plan for the start of your school year.

The District is working rapidly to address the significant staffing shortfall we face.

Please join me in a livestream community update tomorrow at 2 p.m., Aug.10, where I and District administrators will share our strategy to address the bus staffing shortage in a way that minimizes disruption to our student’s educational programing and services.

Again, our live community update will be tomorrow, Wednesday August 10th at 2p.m. You can watch it on our back-to-school webpage. Just click on transportation. 

 

Best,

 Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District

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August 3, 2022

Dear ASD Families,

 

As we near the start of the 2022-23 school year, I’d like to provide new information regarding staffing challenges the District is facing in our Transportation Department. 

 

I am committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information so you can make the best decision for your family. This is highly complex and ongoing, which is why it’s critical I keep you informed.

 

Here’s what we know at this time:

 

• As of today, there are 75 bus drivers short of meeting our operational needs for bus transportation. 

• The Operations division is working through logistics to manage our routes given our staffing shortage.  

• This COULD result in temporary suspension of routes.  

• There are no foreseen interruptions to Special Education transportation services.

 

Our focus now is taking action to stem this attrition issue.

 

Here’s what we’ve completed to date:

 

• An incentive package for both new and existing bus drivers and bus attendants has been developed. This will simultaneously address recruitment and retention concerns.

• Bus drivers will receive up to $2,500 extra for the first semester of the 2022-23 school year.

• Bus attendants will be paid up to an extra $500 for the first semester of 2022-23.

 

If you or anyone you know would like to join our bus driver team, apply here.

 

I’d like to thank you for your cooperation as we work together for a strong school year ahead. The District is committed to addressing these operational challenges to ensure we fulfill our mission to educate all students for success in life. 

 

Best,

 

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Anchorage School District