![]() ![]() PAULY: The same dynamic has played out across the country. And with the pandemic, a lot of retirees reconsidered if that was the best type of work for them to be doing. POWELL: A lot of times, people would choose driving a school bus as something to do in retirement. She says the district lost a significant number of drivers this past school year. PAULY: That's Kim Powell, chief operations officer for Charlottesville City Schools. KIM POWELL: The resuming of in-person instruction after the pandemic - that's when things really shifted here. PAULY: Julian is among hundreds of Charlottesville students from pre-school through high school who no longer have bus service. It's the first day of school, and there's plenty along the way to keep us entertained, including a high-five from a construction worker, plastic flamingos in someone's yard and spiderwebs in the shrubbery. I walk next to 6-year-old Julian Mickey, who was very excited about his backpack. This small group only has one adult, so I tag along as the caboose. Walking school buses usually include two teachers - one at the front and one at the back. She holds up a clear umbrella, and they set out single-file on the three-quarter mile walk to school. ![]() PAULY: Sizemore puts stickers on the hands of three little kids to indicate they're on the blue bus. MEGAN PAULY, BYLINE: Elementary school teacher Michel Ann Sizemore wears a bright yellow safety vest and carries a clipboard to mark off the names of students on her walking bus. MICHEL ANN SIZEMORE: OK, my blue bus friends, are we ready? Megan Pauly with VPM News reports on a school district in Charlottesville, Va., that's trying something called walking school buses. Some cities are trying some innovative ways to get kids to class. There are not enough school bus drivers right now. Maybe your family is living out the consequences of this next story with some unplanned carpooling.
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