More than 10,000 students, another 1,500 professionals and a seemingly infinite number of aspirations are making their way back into Lawrence public schools this week.

Officials are hoping that people who will be getting to and from the district’s 23 schools simply employ a little common sense in keeping everyone involved safe.

“Just use patience and, certainly, caution on that first day,” said Rick Gammill, the district’s director of special operations, including transportation and safety. “Use it every day, but certainly on the first day.”

Today is the first day of school for elementary school students, as well as seventh-graders and sophomores. Other students head back to class Thursday and Friday.

Trudy Drum won’t be taking any chances. She’ll be walking her 9-year-old daughter, Skylar, to Prairie Park School today, tomorrow and, likely, throughout the year.

“There are people who drive through here too fast, even though it’s residential,” Drum said.

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

On the sidewalk

¢ Find a safe route. Use sidewalks whenever possible. Cross only at corners or in marked crosswalks. Look both ways – left, right, then left again – when crossing traffic. “Cars can approach fairly quickly,” says Rick Gammill, who oversees transportation and safety for the Lawrence school district.

¢ Don’t go alone. Parents can accompany younger kids. “We always encourage older children to use the buddy system and to walk with a sibling, a friend or a neighbor,” Gammill says.

¢ Don’t use a scooter, a skateboard or inline skates – all of which are not allowed in school, Gammill says.

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo Jakob Farrar, a fourth-grader at Deerfield Elementary School makes his way through a crowd of students with his bicycle after school. A new school policy regarding bicycles this year is that children must walk their bikes across school property before getting on to ride.

On a bicycle

¢ Wear a helmet. “Always,” Gammill says.

¢ Look both ways – left, right, then left again – when crossing a street.

¢ Use the sidewalk, if available. “That’s where you should be,” Gammill says. “These are still children. The goal should be to make it as safe as possible for those children.”

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

On the bus

¢ Watch your step. Use handrails getting on. And if you drop something near the bus, don’t pick it up – the driver might not see you. Instead, ask the driver for help.

¢ Be patient. Wait for the bus to stop before approaching to get on or standing up to get off.

¢ Stay visible. Stand “10 giant steps” away from the outside of the bus when waiting at a stop, so the driver can see you, says Wayne Zachary, contract manager at First Student Inc., which runs the district’s buses.

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo Traffic travels on 31st Street just west of the intersection of 31st and Haskell Ave. City commissioners are considering expanding 31st Street to O'Connell Road in a study session Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007.

In the car

¢ Stop when buses do. Passing a stopped bus, with its lights flashing and stop arm extended, is a $300 fine. “Traffic must stop both ways, unless there’s a physical barrier between the two roadways, such as a median or a ditch,” Zachary says.

¢ Obey speed limits, especially in school zones. “There’s a lot of kids walking back and forth,” said Olivia Lemus, a fourth-grader at St. John Catholic School.

¢ Be patient. That’s especially key for parents and guardians dropping off and picking up students at school. “Give yourself some extra time,” Gammill says.

The Comparato family makes a careful dash across the street as traffic comes to a halt Tuesday along Massachusetts Street. Schoolchildren will fill the streets this morning as they arrive at their first day of classes for the 2008-2009 school year. Mia Comparato, 8, from left, joins her mother, Paige, and siblings Stella, 10 months, and Freddy, 6.