Practice makes perfect

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Hollis Primary School’s practice run for kindergarten and first-grade students, held the day before the official opening of school, is a brilliant idea.

The purpose is to get children used to riding school buses, allow them to find their classrooms and meet their teachers, and, in general, just be comfortable with the whole idea of school.

We love it. Ah, but there’s a second purpose: to get parents used to the idea of their young children riding the school bus.

To accomplish the latter purpose, parents got to ride the buses with their kids the day before the official opening of school, so they got to see what it’s like and, equally important, they got to meet the school bus drivers, those folks who have a major responsibility for the safety of their children.

From everything we could see, parents and kids loved the practice runs. And why not? If you were a kindergarten student taking the school bus for the first time, wouldn’t you like it if Mom or Dad rode along with you? You bet you would. Who wouldn’t?

And if you were a parent sending Johnny or Jenny off on that bus for the first time, wouldn’t you feel better taking the first (albeit practice) trip with him or her to see how things work? You bet you would.

We also like, and we’re sure parents appreciate, the fact that the school nurse met with bus drivers on the day before the official first day of school to go over some safety precautions. The drivers probably knew all of the things about which she spoke, but it never hurts to have a refresher course.

This day was geared for parents and students, of course, but we also got the impression that teachers and staff thought it was valuable as well. And why not? Getting to meet the kids, and in some cases a parent or two, before things officially began certainly couldn’t hurt.

We like this idea so much we hope other school districts adopt it.