For many charter schools, providing transportation to their students can be a significant challenge. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools do not provide transportation to and from school, making families, and the community responsible for this task. Unfortunately, this bare necessity for students has been difficult for families in both urban and suburban areas, where public transportation is not always accessible and children’s safety is an increasing concern. In rural areas, significant distances pose its own challenges.
Providing transportation for children, not only to school, but after-school and weekend activities, is a significant time and financial expense, particularly for families in one-car homes.Schedules conflicting alone is a key indicator that leads to increased absenteeism.
Traffic congestion is a challenge faced by all communities. With a number of families driving their children to and from school, particularly during peak hours, traffic can quickly become gridlocked, leading to long wait times and increased frustration for neighbors, parents and the school administration, which can also become a safety concern. With so many children being dropped off and picked up in a relatively small area, there is an increased risk of accidents, particularly when parents are in a hurry or distracted.
To address these challenges, charter schools are turning to new and innovative methods to not only get our kids to school, but taking redundant cars off the roadcare of the environment and alternatives – and a safe school carpool solution like Gokid Connect for charter schools. Gokid provides a simple, user-friendly platform. When implemented at schools, parents can easily find other families to carpool with and organize these carpools with the latest safety features like live-tracking of vehicles and notifications of the drop off and pick up.
Parents can find other families based on their neighborhood and grades of the children, and the school benefits by being able to measure traffic reduction, emission reduction and the number of carpools set up. Schools can easily measure how this alternative can contribute to reducing tardiness and absenteeism, as families who may not have been able to drive daily can reduce their driving needs to 2 or 3 trips to school per week.
As with any new initiative, or school program, funding this technology platform can be be a challenge for charter schools, particularly those serving underserved communities. This is where Gokids’ collaboration with the Shatter Foundation comes in. Through its partnership with Gokid, the Shatter Foundation is providing funding for implementing Gokid at selected charter schools and underserved public schools.
If accepted into the program, the first year of Gokid will be subsidized by the Shatter Foundation, allowing schools to implement the program without having to worry about the financial burden. This can be a game-changer for schools that may not have the resources to fund busing, and can help ensure that all students have access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to and from school.
Michael Kapoor, COO of Shatter Foundation:
“We are extremely happy to support Gokids expansion into Charter Schools and continuing to assist underserved communities. Attendance matters. Children’s safety matters. Communities functioning efficiently matters. All children have the right to be in school, and GoKid is making sure that happens one school at a time.”
While the challenges of transportation at charter schools can be significant, a program like Gokid Connect is pointing to a future in which schools are helping to help parents make those connections, create carpool groups. Parents benefit from by saving money, and reducing time driving.
To apply for funding through the Shatter Foundation please fill out this form hile the Shatter Foundation’s partnership with Gokid can provide funding for new programs to ensure that all students have access to safe and reliable transportation.
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