It's probably not what students in Boston want to hear — the new school year is quickly approaching.
Boston Public Schools will welcome most students back to the classroom on Sept. 7, which is now less than a month away. Kindergarteners will begin class on Sept. 11.
On Wednesday, Mayor Michelle Wu and other city officials held a news conference to share an update on preparations for the new school year, focusing especially on transportation.
Wu said that crews have been busy prepping the city's 119 school zones; they're restriping all crosswalks near schools and ensuring that all pavement markings and safety signage is in place, in good condition and visible.
Nearly half of Boston's school zones have been updated so far, Wu said, and all of them will be done before the first day back.
The mayor also shared an update on school bus driver staffing. She said that for the first time since pre-pandemic, Boston Public Schools is fully staffed with more than 700 active drivers. Promising that the staffing numbers would mean a "huge difference in reliability," Wu said there are another 35 drivers in training.
The district also has 100 more bus monitors than it did a year ago, and is looking to hire even more.
“Today every parent should be able to go to work in the morning, knowing their student will get to and from school safely and on time," Wu said. "And for our students, that journey should never feel uncertain or certainly unsafe.”
BPS is working to increase their fleet of electric buses, too.
Families can expect their bus assignments via mail and email sometime next week.
