Yellow Bus Transportation

  • Eligibility

    Students in the Chelsea Public Schools are eligible for yellow bus transportation if:

    • They are in grades K-4
    • Their home address is eligible for transportation
    • A bus seat is available
    • A completed transportation application is received by the Parent Information Center

    Application Process

    >For students who rode the bus this year and will continue to ride the bus in the new school year:

    • June: Families will need to bring proof of address to the Parent Information Center.
    • August: Student will receive a bus tag, bus assignment notice with the bus number, bus stop location and the time of pick-up and drop-off.

    >For students in Pre-Kindergarten transitioning to Kindergarten: 

    • March: Transportation applications for the upcoming school year are given to the parent by the classroom teacher during the parent/teacher conference. Parents must submit all required information to the Parent Information Center.
    • August: At the parent/teacher conference, student will receive a bus tag, bus assignment notice with the bus number, bus stop location and the time of pick-up and drop-off.
    >For students transitioning from the John Silber Early Learning Center to the Mary C. Burke Complex:
    • A lottery system is used to assign bus seats to ELC students transitioning to the Mary C. Burke Complex as seats become available. As such, all transitioning ELC students eligible for transportation services will first be placed on a waitlist. (For Kindergarten students moving up to First grade at the ELC - Please know that students already assigned to a bus retain their seat assignments the following year unless they relocate to another address not eligible for transportation.) 
    • March: The transportation application will be given to the parent by the classroom teacher during the parent/teacher conference. Parents must submit all required information in a timely manner to have students placed onto the waitlist.
    • August: Student will be notified whether they were assigned a seat or not by mail.  If assigned, the student will receive a bus tag, bus assignment notice with the bus number, bus stop location and the time of pick-up and drop-off.  If not assigned, students will receive a waitlist letter by mail.
    • Students remaining on the waitlist will also be notified again in August if not assigned a seat.

    >For students at the Mary C. Burke Complex applying to ride the bus for the first time:

    • May:  Transportation applications for the upcoming school year are mailed home.
    • June:  Families must submit application and required information to the Parent Information Center by the second week of June.
    • August:  Student will be notified whether they were assigned a seat or not by mail, as a part of the Welcome packet from their schools.  If assigned, the student will receive a bus tag, bus assignment notice with the bus number, bus stop location and the time of pick-up and drop-off.
    • Bus seats are assigned in the following manner:
      1. Current riders: Assigned first as long as application is returned with proof of address
      2. Mary C. Burke Complex Waitlist: Assigned second as long as application is returned with proof of address
      3. ELC to Complex: Assigned third as long as application is returned with proof of address
      4. New riders: Placed on a waitlist first and will be informed if/when assigned a seat

    >All newly registered students will be placed on a waitlist and will be informed if/when assigned a seat.

  • Pick-Up and Drop-Off Protocols

    • Kindergarten and elementary school students who ride the yellow bus are picked up and dropped off at a bus stop near their home. 
    • For kindergarten students, a designated adult must wait with the child until the bus arrives in the morning and be present when the child is dropped off after school. 
    • For students in grades 1-4, having an adult present is not required. Students will be picked up at their assigned bus stop and will get off of the bus on their own.  Thus, it is possible for an elementary student to choose to get off the bus at a stop other than their assigned bus stop. Parents are encouraged to have a conversation about this with their child and to make sure they know what their bus stop looks like.

    Early Dismissal Pick-Up for K to 4 Students

    • For safety reasons, students from the John Silber Early Learning Center and the Mary C. Burke Complex will not be released to anyone other than the parent or guardian listed as their emergency contact.

  • Yellow Bus Transportation  
    Lillian Lopez Severino, Student Data Specialist

    Parent Information Center
    99 Hawthorne St.
    Chelsea, MA 02150

    Phone: 617-466-5500
    Email: lopezl@chelseaschools.com