New bus lets girl with wheelchair ‘ride with friends’

JAMESTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A new school bus might not be the most exciting news for the average kid, but a fourth-grade class at Jamestown Upper Elementary School is an exception.

“I think for our classroom especially, we like to really value inclusion,” said Chelsea Reed, a fourth-grade teacher at Jamestown Upper.

Lylah Gritter is a student in her class.

“For years, Lylah wasn’t able to be transported to any field trip or any activity we did with her class,” Reed explained.

That’s because Lylah uses a wheelchair.

“Hudsonville has always transported our special education students in smaller school buses,” said Rob Matthews, director of transportation for Hudsonville Public Schools. “A lot of our wheelchair-bound students have medical conditions and other things that require some additional staffing considerations and additional time to and from school. A smaller school bus is ideal for those students and meeting their needs.”

That means if a class went on a field trip, they would take two buses.

“Most of the class would ride on the bigger bus, and a few friends would ride with a wheelchair-bound individual on the smaller bus,” Matthews explained. “We frankly started to face a challenge finding enough bus drivers to staff two vehicles when we didn’t need that many seats.”

The district decided to reach out to other schools to borrow their full-size lift buses, so they wouldn’t need two drivers for field trips.

“The first time we used Allendale’s bus, we transported a teacher who was wheelchair-bound and never traveled with his students before. And he was just overwhelmed and it was a tremendous experience for him,” Matthews said. “The second time we did this was last year for Lylah with the partnership with Rockford Public Schools.”

The response was overwhelming.

“Just the ability to ride the school bus with your friends,” Matthews said. “We fell in love with the concept.”

So, the district decided to buy its own full-size lift bus.

The buses cost about $37,000 more than a standard full-size bus, but an enhancement millage passed by Ottawa County voters a few years ago gave the district the ability to purchase the $157,000 vehicle.

The bus took two years to arrive because of production delays, but it was worth the wait.

“That allowed Lylah to finally experience what a bus ride feels like with her classmates,” Reed said.

Her class got to take the bus to the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra. In a few weeks, the bus will transport them to Field Day.

“What are you excited about with it?” Reed asked Lylah.

“That I get to ride with my friends,” she beamed.

Since the bus arrived on May 9, Matthews said it has been used every day, which is why the school board has already approved the purchase of a second bus.

“I am very grateful to the Hudsonville Public Schools Board of Education and to the Ottawa County taxpayers,” Matthews said. “One of the joys in this job for me is supporting our students in all of their endeavors and helping them safely get from point A to point B, so it’s a tremendous pleasure to be able to see all of our students gather under one vehicle, knowing it’s safe and secure.”

It’s also a joy for Reed to see all her students get to share the same experiences.

“It’s so awesome just to know what it feels like for Lylah. I’m just so grateful that … she has this spark that has ignited this big movement. And it’s so awesome to know that not only is it going to change for Lylah for the rest of her school career here, but it’s going to impact all of these other students that are wheelchair-bound for our district,” Reed said.

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