Transportation for Specialty Centers & Program Centers
In most cases, students receive transportation to and from HCPS specialty centers and programs; however, because of the greater distances and reduced numbers involved, effective transportation requires planning, creativity and cooperation.
Do students need to register for specialty center transportation?
Students attending a specialty center or program outside of their assigned school zone are required to register for school bus transportation. If your student has accepted a slot at a center or program, you should automatically receive a form link via email to register for transportation. If you didn’t get an email, please contact the center or program coordinator. Specific transportation information for your child will be available to students in PowerSchool one week before the first day of school.
How does specialty center transportation work?
Morning transportation is arranged from a middle or high school student’s neighborhood bus stop to an assigned HCPS transfer hub (at Deep Run, Douglas Freeman, Hermitage or Highland Springs high school) and then to the specialty center or program site.
High school students use the same hub system in the afternoon, but because the middle school day ends earlier, middle school students don’t use the four high school hubs in the afternoon.
What about parent pickup and dropoff?
Middle and high school students may be dropped off at their assigned hub in the morning but must arrive before 7:40 a.m. to catch the shuttle to their center or program.
High school students: In the afternoon, students attending most high school specialty centers may be picked up at their specialty center or at their assigned hub. The exception is students attending the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School or CodeRVA; because those students don’t use HCPS hubs, they may be picked up by a parent or guardian in the afternoon at the student’s assigned home high school.
Middle school students: In the afternoon, middle school students may be picked up at their specialty or program center. However, if a student boards an afternoon bus, the student must ride all the way to their assigned neighborhood bus stop, whether the route is direct or involves a transfer site.