Amid bus driver shortage, high school uses charter bus with stripper poles

Schools across the nation struggle with a bus driver shortage, and Massachusetts has been hit especially hard. This month, the state called in the National Guard to transport kids to school.

One Boston high school resorted to using a party bus complete with stripper poles and LED lighting, as tweeted by teacher Jim Mayers.

"According to Mayers, the original bus charter for the field trip had fallen through halfway through the week, leaving them to find a last minute alternative. "When you promise hundreds of kids a fun day with their advisories, you make it happen," he wrote.

For Mayers, the best part was the kids' reactions to the stripper poles, saying: "I've never seen one before," after being informed they were genuine ones. "Me neither," he responded."

Newsweek

After the story was shared widely, Mayers deleted the tweet, and he made a follow-up statement on Twitter to point to large structural issues in education that he considers more worthy of attention than his party bus field trip. The three-paragraph message concluded with an invitation for people to get involved with the education system.

"I encourage anyone reading this to attempt their next local school board meeting, or to pick up one of the many fantastic books about education written by people much smarter than me. For folks looking for an entry point into some of education's most critical conversations about inequity, one of the most important books I've read is called "The Dreamkeepers," by Gloria Ladson-Billings.

@mayersteach on Twitter