Pearl River Valley Opportunity, Inc. provides transportation services free of charge to all preschool children. However, transportation services are not provided for infants/toddlers enrolled in our Early Head Start program. PRVO strives to ensure that the ride to and from school is educational, but more importantly safe. Educational activities include singing songs, finger-plays and listening to music. Safety is stressed frequently with drivers and attendants. They are provided refresher courses on evacuation procedures, accident prevention, first aid and bus maintenance. Each bus has a bus attendant that assists children with child restraint systems and ensures that children enjoy a safe ride.

Over the past few years, PRVO has implemented positive changes to its transportation program:

1. Transportation is provided to families and children who live outside the designated five-mile radius of each center. Parents who live within the five-mile radius are asked to bring their child to school each day. However, each family situation is handled on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the needs of the family are met. The parents, center administrator, and family service worker meet to evaluate the best transportation option based on the expressed needs of the family.
2. PRVO continues to utilize pickup points with an effort to minimize the number of stops. Also, pick up points allow us to ensure that routes are short; therefore, reducing the amount of ride time for children. For more information, please contact Natissa Thompson at [email protected].