Transportation

Bus schedule information is mailed to families in the Robbinsdale Area School district before the first day of school. 

• Eligible students in grades K-12 receive a postcard in the mail with the student's bus number, pick-up location and pick-up/drop-off times.
   
• If you do not receive a card in the mail before the first day of school,
  • you may live within the walk zone of your attendance area school;
  • your student is attending a school in the district which is outside of your attendance area (and is not a magnet school) and therefore you are responsible for transportation;
  • you have a high school student who travels to and from school via independent means and you have opted out of district transportation.  
     
• If your student needs to ride a bus at a location other than their home address (such as a daycare location), please inform your student's school. 

If you would like to make a request to change your student's bus stop, please read through the following information first and then complete the information below.

• Buses will not travel into cul-de-sacs, dead-end streets or other areas where the driver cannot safely maneuver the bus. Most private roads are also excluded (i.e. apartment complexes and home associations). These roads are typically not built to the same standard of a public road. Issues such as vehicle weight, road width, congestion, snow clearing, etc., prevents their use. An exception to this may be a bus that is transporting students with disabilities on our special education system. All students, regardless of age or grade who reside in these areas will need to walk to the assigned bus stop regardless of distance.

• Availability of sidewalks is not part of the criteria used in establishing bus stops. Much of the Robbinsdale School District attendance area was designed without sidewalks.
   
• Buses drive by many students’ homes every day. The bus driving by doesn't warrant adding/changing a bus stop. Visibility from the home to the bus stop is not part of our criteria for establishing bus stops. Bus stops are collection points in neighborhoods. Statistically, bus stops are safer at the corner than in front of your home. House stops are not only less safe, they are simply not practical for typical busing operations. Again, our special education system would be the exception. We strongly encourage families to walk with and supervise their student at the bus stop as well as meeting their student at the bus stop at drop off.
   
• We are unable to establish stops based on personal circumstances such as employment, daycare, siblings or medical circumstances of another family member.

"Walk zones" are established for each school. Students who live in the walk zone of their enrolled school are not eligible to ride the bus. 

Walking Distances to Schools

Elementary School (Kindergarten - 5th Grade):  5/10 of a mile
Middle School (6th - 8th Grades):  7/10 of a mile
High School (9th - 12th Grades):  1 mile
 

Walking Boundary Maps (PDFs)

• FAIR Piligram Lane
• Forest Elementary
• Lakeview Elementary
• Meadow Lake Elementary
• Neill Elementary
• Noble Elementary
• Northport Elementary
• Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School (RSI)
• School of Engineering and Arts (SEA)
• Sonnesyn Elementary
• Zachary Lane Elementary
• FAIR School Crystal
• Plymouth Middle School
• Robbinsdale Middle School
• Sandburg Middle School
• Armstrong High School
• Cooper High School
   

Preschool

To ensure the safety of our youngest learners, please be aware of the following procedures for preschool students.

• Students must wear bus tags with their name and correct drop-off information every day for the entire year. It is recommended students wear a bus tag and have a copy of the tag attached to their backpack.
   
• Preschool students are required to be seated in the front seats of the bus.
   
• Preschool students must accompanied at the bus stop for both pick-up and drop-off with a designated adult. The privilege to ride the bus will be jeopardized if this is not followed.
   
• If there is no one at the bus stop to meet the student, the driver will keep the student aboard and will make a second attempt to drop-off, and will also contact dispatch for further instructions.
   
• If you live within the "walk zone," your student is will not have bus transportation provided; your student is required to have an adult escort them to and from school. 
   
• Preschool children must be picked up and dropped off at the same location every day.
   

Daycare

In order to be eligible for busing to and from daycare, your student's daycare must be within the attendance area of your school.

For those families whose students attend before- or after-school care at the YMCA on 42nd Avenue in New Hope, busing is only available for Sonnesyn, RSI,  SEA and FAIR School Crystal. 

Bus transportation is provided for students enrolled at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School, the School of Engineering and Arts, FAIR School Pilgrim Lane, FAIR School Crystal and the Spanish Immersion magnet program Plymouth Middle School.