Discipline Reigns on Long Trip by School Bus 3015

It was 6:35 a.m. and Los Angeles School District Bus 3015 was about to pull away from the corner of 132nd Street and Purche Avenue in Gardena when a woman honking the horn of a yellow compact pulled up beside it.

Two gangly youths emerged from the car’s back seat and ran toward the waiting vehicle. Huffing and puffing a quick “good morning” as they climbed aboard, each of the teen-agers flashed a green card in bus driver Dora Deckard’s direction.

“If you miss the bus, the only way to get to school is the RTD,” ninth-grader David Mack confided later. “It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get out to the Valley by RTD. I’ve done it, and it’s just no fun. It doesn’t pay to miss the bus.”

Journey Begins

And so the journey began: East on 132nd Street, north on Van Ness Avenue, east on El Segundo Boulevard and then north on Denker Avenue. After picking up two more groups of students on Denker, Bus 3015 made a short jog and headed east on Imperial Highway toward the Harbor Freeway and the 29-mile, 57-minute trek to Madison Junior High in North Hollywood.

The 42 students who leave Gardena and Hawthorne for Madison every weekday morning play a small part in the Permit With Transportation program.

In the 1970s, the effect of a long school bus ride on children was one of the central points in the debate over whether the Los Angeles school district should institute a mandatory busing plan. Once the mandatory reassignment plan was abandoned and the voluntary PWT program proved successful, little was heard about how the bus ride affects young students.

So, while desegregation continues to be debated in political arenas and courtrooms, many students in the PWT program are beginning their school day when they awaken between 5 and 5:30 a.m.

About 6:15, when streaks of sunlight are breaking through the clouds, the first students appear on the sidewalks around Purche Avenue Elementary School, the pickup point for PWT students in the Gardena neighborhood.

All age groups are represented. Elementary-age boys stand away from the main group, practicing break-dance moves. Junior high students divide by sex, boys with boys, girls with girls. High school students appear the most nonchalant. One young woman arrives with yellow curlers in her hair and a curler bag slung over her shoulder.

At 6:35, Bus 3015 for Madison arrives. The junior high students climb aboard, flashing the green cards that allow them to ride.

“Spit the gum out,” driver Deckard told a girl one recent morning as she boarded. The girl automatically put her hand to her mouth, tossed the offending substance into a trash box and hurried to her seat.

The petite but strong-willed Deckard is known as a driver who runs a tight ship. Seats are assigned. The one right behind her is “punishment row,” where a student who has broken a rule sits until bumped by another offender.

“I let them sit anywhere they want to during the first few days and just watch,” Deckard said. “The noisy ones gravitate to the back; the shy, quiet ones, to the front. Friends sit with each other. By the third week I assign seats. I put noisy ones with quiet ones, shy ones with some of the older ones. It works out for a while.”

Bus Has Radio

When the students were settled down, Deckard turned on the radio. “Shhhhhh” was heard throughout the vehicle.

“The best thing about the bus ride is the radio,” said Camille Young. “Some buses don’t have radios. It’s better when there’s a radio.”

“Yeah,” chimed in David Mack. “Sometimes she plays gospel music, but most times we listen to KDAY or KGFJ.”

So, with the group DeBarge singing quietly in the background and the students whispering among themselves, Bus 3015 lumbered up the Harbor Freeway.

Some students fell asleep. The favored position seemed to be leaning forward with the crown of the head pressed against the back of the next seat.

For those with window seats, the favorite pastime was watching people in the supposed privacy of their cars. Some drivers sang to the radio, others stole glances at newspapers spread on seats. A few women polished their nails, applied mascara or combed their hair, leaning to look in the rear view mirror whenever the car was stopped by traffic.

Slow and go, the bus rattled past USC to the sound of Madonna singing “Lucky Star.”

Most of the students who boarded at Purche Elementary once attended that school and started riding to the Valley when they entered junior high. Although most have never attended their neighborhood junior high, Henry Clay, the students offered sharp opinions about the quality of education at the two schools.

“We ride the bus because we thought there would be special programs at Madison that aren’t at Clay,” said Rashunda Smith. “But there aren’t. Both schools are the same.”

“Uh-uh,” disagreed Nicole White. “I went to Clay for summer school, and they aren’t learning anything at that school.”

“There’s less violence at Madison,” Ronnie White added softly. “At Clay they don’t even have lockers because they’re afraid kids will put guns and drugs in them. They have to carry their books around all day and only get gym lockers.”

Henry Clay Principal Lionel Riley said that, for the last four years, the school’s Parent Advisory Council has voted not to allow students to use hall lockers because of fears of vandalism.

As a topic of conversation, reasons for riding seem secondary to the logistics of riding.

“The best thing about the bus ride is that you get to depressurize before you get home in the afternoon,” said Kimberly Hadnet.

“Talking to your friends,” said Shannon Hooks. “That’s the best thing.”

“The worst thing is the traffic,” said Monique Oliver. “Sometimes it takes a long time to get home.”

“Yeah,” said Derrick Johnson. “Sometimes you miss things because you get home at 4 o’clock and it’s too late to play sports and things like that.”

“No,” said Angela Huff. “The worst thing about riding the bus is that you can’t eat on the bus and you can’t chew gum.”

On Sherman Way, the final leg of the trip, the youngsters perked up. And, 57 minutes after the first pickup on Purche Avenue, the bus pulled up at Madison Junior High. As the students filed out, Deckard told each one to have “a blessed day.”

On the sidewalk, PWT coordinators Sandy Robinson and Carl Johnson greeted the students. They made sure each student had arrived safely, took requests for replacement bus passes and checked with each driver to make sure there had been no problems during the trip.

‘Rolling Classroom’

“We’re responsible for that kid from the time he or she leaves that front door until they walk back through that door at night,” Robinson said. “We consider the bus a rolling classroom.”

At 8:05 a.m., the school day started for Madison’s 1,719 students, 308 of whom arrived by bus.

At the final bell at 2:50 p.m., the sidewalks around Madison began to fill with students before the shrill ring had finished. Thuds from book bags thrown over a chain-link fence announced their arrival. A moment later, agile adolescents followed the bags over the fence.

Once more Deckard was in the driver’s seat. Once more the students flashed their cards.

The usual afternoon mood, unlike the tranquility of morning, is high-spirited. But, before the 3015 left the school, Deckard stood at the front of the bus and sternly scolded the riders.

There had been too much noise yesterday afternoon, she said, too many people leaning out of their seats and not sitting with face forward. And the bus was left full of crumpled papers. Another messy bus would mean staying after school to clean it.

The rebuke had a deadening effect. Not a word could be heard as Deckard started the engine. “Purple Rain” by Prince eased the tension a bit. But not until the bus was midway through Cahuenga Pass did the students even start whispering.

“I really don’t stay after school for clubs and things like that, even with the late bus. It gets you home so late that it’s dark and you still have to walk home,” said Lori Bennetley.

“Most of us stay after school,” Derrick Johnson said in disagreement, pointing to the boys. “We’re all very athletic, and most of us play sports.”

Some riders tried to do their homework, but the bumpy ride does not make for neatness, and soon most books were stowed beneath seats.

‘You Get Used to It’

A few students fell asleep, but most talked to neighbors, sharing the day’s gossip.

“I really don’t mind getting up so early. After a year you get used to it,” Nicole Sims said.

“Most people have to be in bed by 10 o’clock,” Derrick said, as heads bobbed up and down in affirmation.

Added Camille Young: “You get used to the traffic too. It really doesn’t bother me.”

Hollywood Freeway, Harbor Freeway, Purche Avenue School. Final stop of the day.

“See that ice cream man?” Monique Oliver said. “He’s there every day waiting for us.”

As the students climbed off 3015, they told Deckard thank you, others promised to “see you tomorrow” and one small, unusually quiet seventh-grader bade her to have “a blessed evening.”

Madison Jr. High, North Hollywood Ethnic breakdown

1983 Neighbor- 1973 1979 1983 hood Census Black 2.4% 18.7% 19.3% 2.3% Asian 1.5% 14.9% 12.0% 3.7% Latino 6.8% 15.5% 26.1% 22.8% Anglo 89.2% 50.3% 42.3% 82.3%

1983 PWT Enrollment %--17%