Audio: For some students at New Orleans' best schools, just getting there is a challenge

Audio: For some students at New Orleans’ best schools, just getting there is a challenge

Of the seven A schools in the city, just one buses its students. That means some students fortunate enough to get into one of the best schools must take hours-long rides on public transportation, making them and their parents uneasy.

Amelia Slep-Patterson waits for the bus in Algiers at the start of her long trip to school. Between the dark bus stop and the early-morning walk down Canal, she said she has to on guard. — Amelia Slep-Patterson waits for the bus in Algiers at the start of her long trip to Lusher Charter School in Uptown New Orleans. Between the dark bus stop and the early-morning walk down Canal, she said she has to be on guard.

“I think the school, when they budget, they need to budget for transportation. Because, when they don’t, it’s a way of saying, ‘You can’t cross the tracks? Then you can’t come here.’”—Cristiane Wijngaarde, parent of former Ben Franklin student

New Orleans schools take students from all over the city, but not every school provides yellow bus transportation.

Of the seven A schools in the city, just one buses its students. The rest generally provide public transportation tokens for students who need it.

That means some students fortunate enough to get into one of the best schools must take hours-long rides on public transportation, making them and their parents uneasy.

Audio

Correction: This post originally misspelled Cristiane Wijngaarde’s name. (Nov. 16, 2013)

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