Zum’s yellow school buses made their way to stops across the city as St. Louis Public Schools kicked off the first day of the 2025-2026 school year.
Parents and guardians reported a range of experiences for pick up, from some saying their buses were on time or a few minutes behind, to one guardian who shared that their grandchild’s bus ran about an hour late.
SLPS has over 200 air-conditioned buses on the roads after the district struggled to transport students last year.
Delays in pick up and drop off are not uncommon for the first week of school, as some parents choose to drop their children off as they ease back to school.
During a press conference held Monday afternoon, district leadership did not provide attendance data for the first day.
Superintendent Millicent Borishade said the district would provide that data by the end of the week.
Richard Lindell, a representative from Zum, did not provide an update on how many students rode the bus, but said that information would be shared with the district this week.
He said about 5,000 parents and guardians have downloaded the Zum app, where parents can monitor their child’s bus ride.
District leadership blamed delays families were experiencing on construction and traffic, but did say they expect ridership will increase in the coming days.
Chief of Operations Square Watson said during a school board meeting on Aug. 12 that Zum had completed dry runs of bus routes to ensure a smooth first day of school.
Displaced but not discouraged
Hundreds of SLPS students from seven storm-damaged schools made their way to their temporary school assignments on Monday morning.
The Sumner High School Alumni Association continued its decade-old trend of welcoming back students with music, chants and maroon and white balloons, but this time at Stevens Middle School.
Robin Allen, a member of the alumni association and 1984 graduate, said it’s important for the students to know that they have a community to support them as they navigate a new environment.
“This is just temporary until we get home, but we want them to know that the culture is still going to be the same and we're still going to love on them, celebrate them and cheer them on to success,” Allen said.
Jayvon Johnson, a student in his senior year at Sumner, said he’s looking forward to graduating this year.
“I was at Sumner since my freshman year and I wanted to be there to my senior year, but then the tornado happened,” Johnson said. “It hurts.”
Sumner High School Principal Ronda Wallace cheered and greeted students one by one as they walked into their temporary school.
“I’m grateful that we have a temporary location, and what I always say is that we are displaced, but we are not discouraged,” Wallace said.
Buses dropped off a handful of children at a time, but nowhere near the over 300 students who were enrolled at the school last year.
Superintendent Millicent Borishade and school board President Karen Collins-Adams rode a bus to Stevens and joined the Sumner staff in welcoming students.
“I think that we're building hope and trust and true value in education, some things that, have you know, been on the minds of the parents and the community,” Collins-Adams said. “We're working at it right now, and it's going to be great.”
It was a different scene at Ashland Elementary on North Newstead Avenue in the Penrose neighborhood.
The school is meant to serve as a bus stop for students who are then shuttled to nearby Jefferson Elementary School.
According to Watson, about 60% of students would walk to school. The neighborhood was one of the hardest hit during the May 16 tornado.
There were no Ashland students at the school on Monday morning and minimal school staff meant to greet them.
A group of students who attend the Gateway MST Elementary and Middle Schools was waiting to be picked up.
Third grader Randy Watson said he was excited for school and looking forward to learning multiplication, though he said he had been practicing.
Their bus arrived just a few minutes behind schedule.
This story has been updated to include additional information from an afternoon press conference held by St. Louis Public Schools leadership.
