Regina school boards gifted new minivan to help boost attendance numbers

A brand new white minivan will soon be helping Regina students get to school.

On Thursday, the separate and public school boards were gifted the 2019 Dodge Caravan through the United Way’s Attendance Matters program.

In addition to the new wheels, the program works with local community partners to offer students and their families incentives for getting to class, such as city leisure passes and tickets to Regina Pats games.

Stacy Gherasim is currently the superintendent of education services with the Regina Catholic School Division, but before that she worked as a teacher in a number of the city’s community schools.

She said poor attendance is a reality for many younger students in the inner city — and it’s usually out of their control.

“Remembering back to students I had in my class and thinking about how I knew they wanted to be at school but they just couldn’t get there — it wasn’t any fault of their own; it was just where they were and the circumstances — this is going to make such a difference for those kids,” Gherasim explained, adding that free transportation adds another layer of support for families in need.

“Just knowing that (parents and caregivers) have a way of being able to get their kids to school if they need it — having that option and that support is going to be tremendous.”

Those feelings were echoed by Tracy Houk, the principal at W.H. Ford Elementary School in northwest Regina.

While she admitted it’s likely most of her students will never need a ride, Houk said — having worked in some community schools where there tends to be more issues around attendance — this minivan symbolizes relief for a lot of families.

“Sometimes it’s just really difficult to get them there if they don’t have their own transportation, they don’t have working transportation or if they’re not able to physically get their child there,” Houk explained.

A professional driver — hired by both school divisions — is expected to start picking up and dropping off kids who need a ride on Nov. 4.