Transportation

Please log into your enrollment account. Transportation forms can be found under each student's checklist. We encourage early transportation registration to ensure all riders can be accommodated.

Bus stops are placed in locations to maximize safety and minimize the overall travel time for the bus route. Bus stops are designed to be within approximately 1/2 mile of the student's home.

Many of our bus stops are common locations for several families. We encourage you to accompany your child to the bus stop or arrange a neighborhood buddy to walk with your child.

Possibly.  Before the start of school OR during the school year we may need to change bus routes to accommodate changes of address, new enrollments and program assignments. Though we expect that bus stop locations will remain relatively constant, bus numbers and stop times could change if a route is adjusted. We typically see the greatest numbers of changes during late August and early September and sometimes again in January with new families arriving into the country. We try to accommodate new families requesting bus service with little to no effect on existing riders.

Our Transportation office will provide families with route information that indicates the bus stop location and times. If you need assistance in locating your bus stop, please communicate with our staff for a stop list. Emails can be sent to rochambus@rochambeau.org.

We invite you to complete the transportation request form online or contact our Transportation staff with specific questions. In most cases we can comfortably service ridership within a 10 mile radius from the Forest Road Campus. Early bus registration is key to ensure a stop is available or created as close as possible to your location. Buses traveling the longest distances will have route start times earliest in the morning. We try not to start any bus routes before 7am.

Parents of students registered and have paid the initial deposit for bus services will receive their first notification confirmation on or around the third week of July. Additional information will follow during the subsequent weeks to follow via email. In the event you have not received any communication from the Transportation Office please email rochambus@rochambeau.org immediately. If you have relocated after you have originally requested bus service you must also notify the Transportation Office of the new address as soon as possible. This may result in your child being placed on another school bus route closer to your area.

Your child should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the estimated arrival time of the bus. If there is a substitute driver, the times may not be the same as with the regular driver. Please wait 10 minutes after the scheduled pick-up and then contact the Transportation Office via phone at 301-530-8260 x 241 or x 264. In the event the bus is having delays, parents will be notified via text/email (e2Campus) notification.

Unfortunately we don’t have the option. We service three campus locations that are a good distance apart. All buses do not go to all campuses. Most bus routes first report to the Forest Road Campus as this is our transportation hub. Buses must arrive before 8:10 am so students transferring to our Bradley or Rollingwood campuses are able to board their assigned shuttle.

School buses encounter the same challenges as any commuter, i.e. traffic delays, weather conditions, accidents, or illness. Additionally, drivers may be delayed if parents or caregivers are not at a bus stop to meet an arriving student. In the event of a significant bus delay, families are notified via email and text alert (e2Campus system). Please keep in mind that the times given for pickup and drop off are estimates and should allow a 10 minute window in both cases before contacting the Transportation Office.

In this situation, please notify rochambus@rochambeau.org before 12 noon the day of. The sooner the better to ensure that the message is received by all appropriate parties that need to be informed. Calling the school or the Transportation Office after 3pm is in most cases is too late. If you send an email to your child’s teacher directly with the bus change request, please also copy rochambus@rochambeau.org.

Unfortunately it is not possible. 

The Transportation office is open from 7am to 7pm Monday through Friday from the first day of school to the last day of school in June. We can be reached at 301-530-8260 x 264 or x241 during those hours. The Transportation Office may be closed during weather related snow days. The office is closed for all major holidays and many of the vacation breaks throughout the year.

The capacity for each bus can vary based on the specific model bus being used on that route. All buses can accommodate up to three elementary students or two middle or high students in each seat. Our goal is always to maintain a safe environment for students while accommodating the transportation needs of all families. Depending on the bus route, students should not expect to have a seat to themselves or allowing book bags and personal belongings to occupy a vacant seat.

While shortest distance between two points is a straight line, our buses make several stops along their routes. We realize many families may find they are able to travel from their home to school in a shorter amount of time than it would take for their child to reach the school by the bus. Keep in mind that the school bus is not only picking up your child but on average 40 other students as well.

On average we try to have all bus routes completed within 45 minutes to one hour in length. Because our Forest Road campus serves as our transportation hub, students attending the Rollingwood or Bradley campus locations will use a connecting shuttle to reach their campus. In these cases, an additional 20 to 30 minutes per trip would be added to total travel time. 

If your care provider's location is along an existing bus route, bus service can typically be arranged and families should contact the school to provide the address for the care provider. Parents will be responsible for instructing the care provider to communicate with the school in cases of operational changes due to weather-related or other emergency closures.

Drivers check their buses after each run. During business hours, please call the Transportation Office and we will make an attempt to secure the item in the event you choose to pick it up from the bus lot. Unfortunately, the drivers will not be able to take the item back to the bus stop that day. In many cases the driver will keep the item in the front of the bus near them and return it to the appropriate child on the next school day. Please send an email to rochambus@rochambeau.org if it is after hours or the Transportation Office is closed.

Seat belts are not required on school buses because research by the Department of Transportation has determined that "compartmentalization" was a better safety solution. For this reason, bus seats have been designed with specific spacing, full padding on front and back, and increased back height for maximum impact protection. Safety tests show this configuration to be the most effective protection in case of impact.

Our bus fleet is regularly inspected for safety and mechanical integrity. Our drivers are also specially licensed for bus operation. We are committed to compliance with State and Federal safety standards, following the strictest safety standards.

We assign bus monitors primarily on the buses that travel across state lines or have a large number of young students (elementary-age) assigned to it. Additionally, we provide bus monitors for the inter-campus shuttle buses between Forest Road, Rollingwood, and Bradley campuses.