The Learning Bus
Anthony M. Cockman
DeVry University

Author Note
This paper was prepared for ENGL-112
Taught by Professor C. Gipko
Profile Essay week 2
The Learning Bus

Introduction Early in the morning about 20 miles due east of downtown Kansas City lies the town of Blue Springs, Missouri. Kids stand waiting to get onto a bus that is commonly thought of as yellow, dull, and ready to take them to school. This is what everyone expects, but what if the bus was blue, and instead of taking kids to school it brought school to the community. This is an idea that education can be spread to everyone who is willing to except it, instead of just the kids in the public school system.

A dismissed bus from the public school system 18 months ago, it has been reborn inside and out through community volunteers. With 20 computers onboard, this bus is more than just a computer lab. Being handicap accessible, equipped with Wi-Fi, and a staff consisting of librarians, teachers, and A+ volunteer students, it is more of a learning center. The equipment from seats, computers, chairlifts, and paint to the tires, engine, and other mechanical systems were all donated and installed by volunteers and businesses within the community. When this bus fires up in the morning to start its day, the operational staffs of volunteers are knowledge driven and ready to bring education to the community.

There were many contributing factors that helped launch the learning bus. The Siemens Company supplied the computers while Sprint supplied the internet. The learning bus also received help from many other companies and individuals offering a helping hand in after school tutoring or even a pair of reading glasses. When the learning bus was launched may 2013, the 18 months of planning and construction could be celebrated briefly before the real mission would commence. In 2011 the Women Endowing Education Group provided grants to the Blue Springs School District to create the W.E.E. learning bus we know have. The entirety of the project cost around $250,000 before it was all said and done.

The W.E.E. (Women Endowing Education) is a branch off the Blue Springs Education Foundation and has helped immensely with this project. The voice of the BSEF is Executive Director