Bus - First Student

New Transportation Provider: First Student
Ames Community School District, along with St. Cecilia School is partnering with First Student, Inc., a new transportation provider for the upcoming school year. There are changes that have been made in conjunction with First Student, Ames CSD, and St. Cecilia's. Below are the changes:

1. St. Cecilia students will be on their own bus(es) this year. Our routes will be separate from the Ames CSD. Currently we are looking at possibly 2 buses that will service our families. There may be more based on the number of families that sign up for the buses. First Student is working hard on the length of times our students will be on the bus. There is a possibility that the routes could be slightly longer, but will still only be our students getting on and off the bus.
2. The bus(es) will depart from St. Cecilia's after the conclusion of our day at 3:20 PM. First Student values the seat time of the students and does not want to hamper this because of their routes. Their goal is to leave 7-10 minutes after the conclusion of our day, so the bus departure time is between 3:27 PM - 3:30 PM. 

About First Student
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. First Student completes five million student journeys each day, moving more passengers than all U.S. airlines combined. With a team of highly-trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services including full-service transportation and management, special needs transportation, route optimization and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 40,000 buses. For more information, please visit First Student, Inc.

Who Is Eligible for District-Provided Transportation?
As we are in the Ames CSD, transportation at no cost is provided to:

• Elementary and Middle School Students living more than two miles from their designated school attendance center. 

Eligibility is determined based on the shortest, safest, and most passable route along public highways from the student's home to their school or nearest bus stop.

What is Discretionary Transportation?
Students who live closer than the distances listed above may be considered discretionary riders. Discretionary transportation services may be offered, if available, for a fee approved annually by the School Board. Please contact First Student at 515-233-5424 for more information.

Discretionary rider availability is determined by route capacity and safety considerations.

Action Required by Families
If your student in grades Preschool through 6th grade requires transportation services, you must register them for the bus. Ames' date for registration for busing is August 1st, 2025. We are still working to confirm if this is also our deadline or not. Once we get the forms sent out, we will confirm the date for registration for our buses.

First View: Coming This Fall
First View is First Student's easy to use GPS based vehicle tracking app, which allows you to plan your day and stay connected with your student's trips. The app will not be in service for Ames until after the school year begins. We will send more information when it becomes available.

With First View, you can:

• See near real time vehicle location through GPS and track its progress
• Easily monitor multiple students
• Quickly access updates and vehicle details for each trip
• Receive instant notifications and service alerts
• Set up family members and care givers to receive customizable trip update alerts and emails.

We will have more information soon on how to register for busing with First Student for the 2025-2026 school year.