Learning Express bus helps migrant students, families in Collier County

Just in time for school, the Collier County School District is rolling out the Learning Express bus to enhance education for migrant students and their families.

Collier County Public Schools Superintentdent Dr. Kamela Patton says the point of the bus is to give migrant students and families all across Collier County the opportunity to succeed in the upcoming school year. The district understands that those students sometimes face challenges that other communities may not have. Collier County has around 3,200 migrant students.

“We love it, because we think it just makes those families feel even more special,” Patton said. “And then, a little bit of a misnomer: Most people think all of our migrant students are in Immokalee. That’s not true, we actually have some right in town, too, so that bus will literally roll around all over.”

CCSD kept its costs low by using the labor of Collier inmates to help with the conversion of the school bus into a classroom. Enough funds were left over in the project to pay for teachers, books and curriculum materials and a part-time bus driver.

The Learning Express bus has air conditioning, Wi-Fi and workstations for kids to get help with school work. The bus will be used to help students with homework, English classes for their parents and educational game nights for the whole family.

Patton says she’s confident this will help families overcome some of their challenges.

“It’s another way that we feel like we never stop innovating here, because we know we have some challenges that other communities may not have,” Patton said. “But we have the largest migrant population of 3,200.”

The bus will run on evenings, weekends, and during the summer and holiday breaks.