An 11-year-old girl in New York City was left without a ride to class on the first day of school after the bus she relies on never arrived. Paige Bergen, a sixth grader, attends the Henry Viscardi School for children with special needs in Nassau County, almost an hour away. Her mother later learned that 19 students, many of them in wheelchairs or with multiple disabilities, had been left to find their own way to school. The New York City Department of Education, which is responsible for the transportation, had not responded, and parents say the problem may not be resolved for weeks.
An 11-year-old girl in New York City was left without a way to get to class on the first day of school, after the school bus she relies on never arrived. Paige Bergen, a sixth grader who loves school and had packed her backpack the night before, waited at her Queens home for a bus that simply did not come.
Paige attends the Henry Viscardi School, a school for children with special needs. Her parents chose it because they value the education it provides, even though it is located in Nassau County, almost an hour away in one direction during rush hour traffic. That distance makes reliable transportation essential for the family every school day.
Without a school bus, the burden of getting Paige to class fell on her parents, who had to drive her themselves. According to the family, ferrying Paige to the school and back takes almost four hours out of their day. That leaves them scrambling to cover a trip that the bus service is supposed to handle on their behalf.
When Paige's mother arrived at the school with her that morning, she learned that her daughter was not the only child affected. She was told that 19 students had been left to find their own way to school that day, all of them dependent on a transportation service that failed to show up when the new year began.
The impact is especially serious given who the students are. Many of them use wheelchairs or walkers, or live with multiple disabilities, and yet their parents were left on their own to figure out how to get them to class. For families already managing complex needs, the missing buses added a significant and unexpected strain.
The New York City Department of Education is responsible for Paige's transportation. The broadcaster said it reached out to the department for an explanation but had not heard back. For now, the families affected have been left without clear answers about why the buses did not arrive on such an important day for their children.
Adding to the frustration, Paige's parents say they have been told the problem might not be resolved for weeks. They argue that the situation is unacceptable, stressing that their daughter has the right to an education and the right to be transported to school just like any other child deserves.