Pueblo D60 teams up with Pueblo Transit to help address alarming absenteeism

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2 days ago

A recent study by the Common Sense Institute, a statewide policy research organization, found that of Colorado's 21 largest school districts, Pueblo School District 60 had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism — a rate of 43% — during the 2023-24 school year.
Pueblo D60 launched what is now known as the "Be Present, Be Powerful and Empowered by Reading" initiative at the start of the 2024-25 school year to increase attendance, among other objectives. District Superintendent Barbara Kimzey told the Chieftain that the school district saw "very slight" improvement in attendance numbers last school year and is expecting significant improvement this year.
With the start of the 2025-26 school year fast approaching, the district is growing the initiative by collaborating with Pueblo Transit to ensure high school students are aware of their transportation options.
"High school students traditionally have not had transportation to school provided by the district," Kimzey said. "We know that transportation can be a significant barrier to on-time, daily attendance at school... It was important for us to reach out to Pueblo Transit to see what we could do to maybe, at least streamline how families and students got information."
Information about available public transportation for Pueblo D60 high school students through Pueblo Transit — including bus stop locations and schedules — is available at pueblod60.org/departments/transportation/high-school-public-transportion.
The website also has information about transportation to and from Pueblo Community College (PCC) for concurrent enrollment students.
For the past five years, Pueblo Transit has offered year-round, free rides for kids regardless of school district. Pueblo Transit Director Ben Valdez told the Chieftain there are currently bus stops in direct proximity to high schools throughout Pueblo city limits and that the transit authority is willing to help the school district remove previous transportation-related barriers to school attendance.
"We're just trying to help them remove some of the barriers they've had in the past," Valdez said. "They can put it out there how they want to put it out there. As long as it can increase ridership for students to get to school on time, we're glad to help."
Pueblo Transit has secured funding for its "Kids Ride Free" program for the next two years. However, Valdez told the Chieftain that Pueblo Transit is looking for grant opportunities to extend the program beyond the two-year period.
The transit authority is also working on an agreement with PCC to allow their students to ride free and has recently opened bus stops near the student housing area of the Colorado State University Pueblo campus.
"We're here for the entire community as a whole," Valdez said. "Anybody that wants a ride, we are an option for you. We're continuing to look at new ways to expand, to get better and to better serve our community as a whole. We welcome everybody's input as we move forward to see what we can do better."
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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at [e-mail]. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: How Pueblo D60 and Pueblo Transit are working to improve attendance
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