Table of Contents
In a push for equity, Medford High School added stops and works to increase ridership
By Karenna Keane
The Medford High School Student Advisory Council (SAC) is working to raise awareness of the late-bus program that enables students to participate in extra-curricular activities without worrying about how they'll get home.
“If students are struggling to get home, they’re not going to feel like they belong or like they should be participating in that club or extracurricular,” said Leo Intoppa, an SAC member and Medford High sophomore. “They might not feel like they’re really a part of it because they are not important enough to even get a ride home.”
The SAC is a four-member body of students chosen by their peers to address issues they hear about from other students. The members hope that use of this bus will be linked to increased involvement in school activities and, by extension, an increased sense of belonging.
The MHS bus system has been a central issue for the SAC for several years, according to the group’s advisor, Sheila Freitas-Haley. Past members came up with the idea for a corral system to load all of the buses at the end of the school day, including setting up metal railings to keep students from overflowing into the street. This was their solution to student safety concerns.
The late bus leaves at 3:30 p.m., one hour after dismissal. Before there was a late bus, many students in central and south Medford were reliant on the MBTA if they wanted to stay after school. However, some of the MBTA buses do not leave until 4 p.m. Freitas-Haley said she had been hearing from students that they did not want to stay for after-school help or activities because they did not want to wait that long for the bus.
Civannah Charles, a sophomore and SAC member, was among those who faced the choice between staying late at school and getting home at a reasonable time.
“I would have to walk down the hill from our school, and I would have to take two to three buses and then, after that, walk twenty minutes to my actual home,” said Charles, who is also a part of the Black Student Union and a manager for the volleyball team. “Doing that every week, it gets exhausting, and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to be involved anymore’ because I can’t physically do that and then still take care of my hour-long homework.”
But the late bus program hasn’t been without its problems. When it debuted last spring, it only traveled to North Medford. Freitas-Haley, who is also the high school’s assistant principal of operations and engagement, immediately saw an issue, which she said was echoed by students.
“If you look at our sections of Medford, the excuse was [that] MBTA buses don’t go to North Medford,” Freitas-Haley said. But, she said, “Those are also the million-dollar homes. So, what is that saying to our kids?”
After working with the Medford Public Schools Transportation Director, Ina Jo Williams, the SAC was able to expand the late bus to three stops beginning this fall. Now, they must increase ridership enough to maintain it.
How to increase ridership
Last spring, an average of only two to eight students were taking advantage of the late bus each day, according to Freitas-Haley. She would like to see 30 kids on the late bus in order to prove its value. That’s because the late bus is funded by the School Committee, according to SAC member and Medford High junior Ryan Surette.
“If that funding is not being properly used, then they will have to take the late bus away, which is something all of us do not want,” Surette said.
Freitas-Haley knows of at least one group that could potentially be the source of more riders. The newly-reinstated Black Student Union — back because it has once again found a student advisor — has 20 members who will be staying after school to attend meetings. Those students represent increased opportunities for participation in the late-bus program.
The SAC for its part is also trying to spread the word about the late bus. The group presented its goals of increasing ridership and extracurricular participation to the School Committee at its Oct. 5th meeting. After that meeting, Freitas-Haley had an email blast sent to students about the program. According to Surette, some teachers are also posting reminders about the bus in their classrooms. Intoppa, who started the SAC’s Instagram account, plans to post more information and reminders there as well.
According to Freitas-Haley, a school’s biggest attendance drop-off occurs as the weather starts to turn in November. She believes now is the most important time to make sure students are aware of these resources.
“The big push will definitely come now until Thanksgiving break,” Freitas-Haley said.
The SAC and Freitas-Haley will do a preliminary data collection soon on current late-bus ridership and extracurricular participation. Then, they will compare those numbers in January, at the halfway point in the school year, before presenting again to the School Committee in February. SAC members hope to achieve an 80% ridership increase by this next presentation, or the quarter after that.
“[The late bus is] helping me with all of the stuff I do after school,” said Charles, who now takes the late bus two to three times per week. “Seeing how it helps [me], you can tell how it’s going to help so many people.”
This story is part of a partnership between Gotta Know Medford and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.
