Philadelphia Academy Charter School’s Transportation Department is committed to providing the students at PACS a safe passage to and from school. Our team of bus drivers, bus aides, and office staff work tirelessly to ensure that routes are timely, efficient, and appropriate for our students. We know that the trip to and from school is an important part of your child(ren)’s day. Our drivers want to be a positive part of their experience.

We provide training for our drivers and dedicate time to monitoring our service to students and the community. We are proud that many of our drivers have been with the school for many years and they stay because they care about our students.

Should you have any questions regarding the service we provide, we are happy to help our students and families.

Contact Transportation:

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Bus Safety Guidelines

Student safety is the top priority of the Transportation Department at PACS. Students, parents, and guardians should review the following safety guidelines prior to each school year. Please be advised that it is the parent’s or guardian’s responsibility to see that the child safely boards and departs the bus each day.

Your Bus Stop

  • You must arrive at your bus stop five minutes prior to your stop time. When leaving home, go directly to your bus stop.
  • Respect the property and peace of the people who live at or near your bus stop.
  • Use your assigned bus stop each day.
  • Stand away from the roadway either on the sidewalk or on the shoulder of the road.
  • Wait until your bus comes to a complete stop before moving to board it.
  • If you must cross the street to board the bus, wait until it has stopped, the red school bus lights are flashing and the driver signals that it is safe to cross. Then, look both ways and cross the street fifteen feet in front of the bus.
  • If the parent/guardian is NOT at the afternoon drop off, the student will be brought back to PACS for pick up (K-3rd ONLY).

Riding the Bus or Van

  • Board your bus/van in an orderly manner.
  • Take a seat and remain seated until your bus reaches your destination.
  • Talk in a normal tone so that you do not distract the driver.
  • Keep the aisle and emergency exits clear of all belongings.
  • Respect the rights of other passengers. Bullying will not be tolerated.
  • Drinking and eating are not permitted on the bus.
  • Pointed or sharp objects such as pens, pencils or scissors should be carried in a case or container.
  • Do not throw objects on the bus.
  • Do not put your head or hands out the windows.
  • Do not deface, damage or tamper with any of the bus equipment, including the emergency exits.
  • Obey your driver at all times.

Additional Information

  • Students may ride only the bus to which they are assigned. Permission to ride another bus may be granted by the student’s principal for emergency purposes. An Official Bus Pass granting such permission, signed by the principal for emergency purposes, must be presented to the school bus driver. A note from the parent will not be accepted by the driver. The student should bring the parent’s note to principal’s office in order to receive a bus pass.
  • Live animals, firearms, explosives or anything of a dangerous or objectionable nature are not permitted on school buses. Also, gym bags, band instruments, school projects and other similar items are not permitted on the school bus unless they can be held on the pupil’s lap without endangering the safety of other pupils.
  • The K-3rd children must be met by a responsible adult only at the specified bus stop. The adult cannot be inside a house or at a doorway/garage waiting. They must be outside at the bus stop clearly visible to the driver and child. If not present, the student will be driven back to school for pick up.

Bus Violations

  • The bus driver/aid will notify the pupil of minor violations.
  • The bus driver/aid will report serious or repeated violations to the school principal in writing.
  • The school principal will investigate the incident to determine if disciplinary action is necessary.
  • Riding the school bus is a privilege. Repeated and/or serious misconduct could result in a loss of riding privileges.

Emergency School Bus Procedures

Philadelphia Academy Charter School currently maintains established emergency school bus procedures to ensure all students are evaluated in the event of a school bus accident and/or other emergency-type situation.
In addition, bus evacuation drills are held twice a year to ensure that students can safely evacuate the bus in the event of an emergency. These procedures are reviewed annually with all school bus drivers at their in-service training, and are communicated with all school principals, assistant principals and school nurses.
Questions or concerns related to student bus behavior should be directed to the Operations Manager.

Transportation Staff

Dave Burst
Bus Driver PACS
Gene Cunningham
Bus Driver PACS
Bridget Dever
Bus Driver PACS
Areal Hamusten
Paraprofessional
John Hoke
Bus Driver PACS
Thomas Horton
Transportation & Facilities Manager
William Lavenberg
Bus Driver PACS
Alexandria Lozada
Dennis O’Malley
Bis Driver PACS
George Reppert
Bus Driver PACS
Olga Rosario
Bus Driver PACS
Erin Sanders
Van Driver PACSTransportation
Latasha Thompson
Bus Driver PACS
Shanika Wallace-Bey
Driver PACS
Ben Wetzell
Bus Driver PACS

Meet Mr. Horton

Operations Manager

(215) 676-8320 x 190

Business Hours:
5:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.,
Monday through Friday

Check Your Child’s Bus Information Online

GRADE SCHOOL PARENTS:

Look for your child’s transportation information through Infinite Campus.
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