First Day Back To School For OKCPS Students

It is the first day back to class for students in the Oklahoma City Public Schools District. The district got creative in preparing for this upcoming school year.

A hundred and forty bus drivers will head out of the lot to pick up about 46,000 students in the state's largest district. These drivers run about two to three routes every day so it is quite an undertaking for them.

Heading into the school year, the OKCPS had to fill about 70 teacher vacancies. Some of those opening were filled by teachers who uprooted their lives and families from Puerto Rico. These 14 teachers are experienced in bilingual education. The district said it has a growing Spanish speaking population it needed to cater to.

As for the bus routes, we spoke with Scott Lane, the district transportation director, who said every year, they do a practice run of the routes before the first day of school and it pointed out just a few things for them to keep in mind.

Scott said the district is always looking for qualified drivers who will be paid to train and of course will undergo mandatory drug screenings as well.

Parents, if you have any feedback for the district when it comes to bus routes and safety, you're encouraged to call (405)-587-STOP. That's the districts hotline.