This year, Niles West implemented a 6:00 a.m. activity bus route. The route goes through Skokie, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood and Niles with stops deriving from traditional routes. The routes begin at 6:00 a.m. and buses typically arrive at school by 7:05 a.m. On Wednesdays, when District 219 has late starts, these bus routes start at 7:30 a.m.. With this new implementation, it is believed that students will have plenty of time getting to their early bird classes and activities.

The idea for early bird buses was brought up after the school received considerable feedback from parents in favor of the idea. Though the idea of early bird buses has been recommended in the past, D219 could not create this system until this year due to trouble finding staffing and buses for these routes.

According to Principal Steve Parnther, the need for these buses came up naturally in conversations and emails he was sent concerning the betterment of the school.

“We want to make sure that students have the opportunity to take those classes because some students may not have a ride. We want to make sure we provide students with all the opportunities that we can as a school and as a district,” Parnther said. 

Science teacher Jennifer Sipiera has been teaching early bird classes for three years. Sipiera spoke to Parnther about students who arrived late due to normal morning buses being late and students who don’t take early bird due to their lack of transportation. Originally, Sipiera suggested that the morning routes start earlier so that early bird C classes could be accessible to everyone.

“These buses are important because [they are] more equitable. Anyone who wants to take an early bird can take an early bird, not just the students who can be dropped off or have a car. If you have a bus, you have access. I just think that we talk about accessibility and equity in education, so providing these services is a huge part of it,” Sipiera said.

According to the High School and Beyond study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, students who participated in extracurricular activities had higher rates of attendance and were more likely to score higher on reading and math assessments.

Associate Principal of Operations Mark Thomas hopes that more students use these early bird buses as a way to participate in more school activities.

“We would love to have more demand, because that means that more kids are taking advantage of these classes and clubs. Every time a student is engaged with something, their grade point usually goes up and [they] feel better about belonging in school, ” Thomas said.