MPS Offering Alternative Transportation for Homeless Students
District leasing 20 minivans. MPS has about 5,000 homeless students.
Osama Kabashi recently started driving a van with EverDriven. The company contracts with Milwaukee Public Schools. Corrinne Hess/WPR
Milwaukee Public Schools is offering a van service to help homeless students get to school.
David Fifarek, MPS senior director of transportation services, said the traditional yellow bus is still the district’s primary mode of transportation for students, but the alternative vehicles are being used for students who are harder to reach.
The district is leasing a fleet of 20 hybrid minivans that can each transport four students at a time. The vans make three trips each morning and afternoon.
Fifarek said if the $1 million pilot program is a success, he’s hoping to add more alternative vehicles.
“I’m excited to see that this is actually coming into fruition, and hopefully over the next couple of years, we can see this expand,” Fifarek said. “And try to model this out not only for this district, but maybe for other districts that might have similar situations.”
MPS has had alternate transportation in place for students for more than a decade, but now the district has a fleet that’s committed, Fifarek said.
Pick up is based on the kids that are living in temporary places or far from bus routes.
The program was paid for by COVID-19 funds through a grant aimed at removing barriers for unhoused students.
MPS has about 5,000 homeless students.
According to the National Center for Homeless Education, transportation is one of the biggest barriers to students regularly attending school.
Chronic absenteeism has been an issue across Wisconsin and the nation, especially since the pandemic.
In MPS, more than half of the students are chronically absent, according to the state report card.
Fifarek said unhoused students in the district are likely absent more often than children living in stable homes.
“This is an opportunity for us to make a little bit of an impact on access (to transportation) and timely arrivals,” he said.
MPS is working with EverDriven, a Colorado-based alternative student transportation service the district has contracted with before.
Osama Kabashi recently started driving a van with EverDriven after spending years driving 18-wheel semitrucks. He said as a father of three, he likes the company’s commitment to safety.
He also likes the mission of driving students in need to school.
“I drove a semitruck that could hold 10 cars, so this is a piece of cake,” Kabashi said. “And I love kids. You can learn a lot from kids.”
Milwaukee Public Schools offering alternative transportation for homeless students was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
Transportation
-
Congestion Pricing Cuts Air Pollution in New York City
Dec 14th, 2025 by Jeff Wood
-
FTA Tells Milwaukee to Crack Down on Fare Evasion — Even Where Fares Don’t Exist
Dec 12th, 2025 by Graham Kilmer
-
Will GOGO’s Bus Service Ever Get Going?
Dec 9th, 2025 by Jeramey Jannene
5000 students are homeless???? And Milwaukee Public Schools has approximately 66,864 students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year??
I often wonder if students enrolled in choice schools who become homeless are offered alternative transportation to the school or are they just told to go enroll in MPS?
5000 Homeless students School might be the only stability in their lives How much extra does it cost to make sure that their fundamental RIGHT to a sound basic education which surely includes being able to read Why is this so difficult to get our heads around this very simple concept If the RING Milwaukee County School Districts DO IT then MPS should be able to do it as well. And more importantly point out what students for whatever reason cost more than the “normal” child needs.
WHO SPEAKS FOR THE CHILDREN WHEN WILL URBAN BEGIN TO SPEAK FOR THE CHILDREN?? Why not answer this question?
@Mingus: Not sure exactly how all this works, but I do remember reading about a private school in Racine suing the Racine County School District to force them to pay for transportation for students to attend their school.
The 5000 number might be low. There are kids sleeping on friends, or relatives sofas and floors who have no actual home.
Is there a formal definition of “chronically absent”? If 33,000 kids have been deemed to be chronically absent, it would be nice to know specifically what that means… seems like we might need to do a lot more than provide additional transit options to fill that gap.
Where does the 33,000 come from ?? State wide or MPS?? That would be half of MPS Hummmmm as I say