Weekends Home

On school closure weekends, your local school district provides for your child to come home, at no expense to you. The TSBVI Weekends Home buses run on those weekends and your district will pay TSBVI for that service. Your local school district is also responsible to reimburse your mileage to and from the stops on these weekends. Please contact them to arrange payment. Please refer to the attached calendar for the specific dates of school closings. On all other designated weekends when your child comes home, TSBVI will either provide, Weekends Home transportation to a drop-off point designated by TSBVI, or a commercial bus, or airline ticket for your child, approximately every other weekend.

On the weekends and holidays when TSBVI closes, your local school district will provide transportation for your child from either TSBVI, the bus station, or the TSBVI drop-off point, or they will reimburse you to do this. You will need to check with someone at your local district about getting paid for this travel. For all other designated weekends when your child comes home, TSBVI will arrange for you to be paid to pick up your child from the place where your child is dropped off. If your child goes home by commercial bus or TSBVI bus or van, you will be paid to pick up and take your child to the drop-off point.

For each mile you drive back and forth from the drop-off point, TSBVI will reimburse you at the rate of 50% of the federal/state mileage reimbursement rate, currently that is .29 cents per mile. Please be aware that this amount is subject to change based on the federal/state mileage reimbursement rate. So, if you live 15 miles from the drop-off point, TSBVI will pay you 15 x $.29, or $4.35 for your trip to the drop-off point on Friday afternoon; $4.35 for your trip back home on Friday evening; $4.35 to take your child back to the drop-off point on Sunday; and $4.35 for your drive home on Sunday. So, if you live 15 miles from the drop-off point, for one weekend, TSBVI will pay you $17.40.

Reimbursement checks will be mailed three times per school year. The first check will be mailed in December and will be for qualifying mileage you drive between the beginning of the school year and the Thanksgiving holidays. The second check will be mailed in April for the miles you drive between the Thanksgiving holiday and spring break. The third check will be mailed in June and will be for the miles you drive between spring break and the end of the school year. Please make certain you complete a Weekends Home Parent Agreement Form at the beginning of each year to set this process in motion.

Each school vehicle used for the Weekends Home Program carries equipment to make the trips as safe as possible. All Weekends Home staff have been trained to manage students effectively and to safely transport them. This includes training on sanitation, evacuations, and other emergency response techniques. Every effort is made to ensure a safe ride and a positive experience for students.

TSBVI will need your cooperation to keep your child’s participation as consistent as possible with your assigned schedule. Understand, after the school year begins, TSBVI will not be able to make changes in your child’s assigned schedule. In August, we will plan how many staff we need to supervise students in the dormitories and how many we need to get students home each weekend. We cannot afford to make changes after the school year starts because changes will result in not having enough Residential Instructors to safely and effectively supervise the students who do not go home on a particular weekend.

Please always make certain you pick up your child on time and have your child back on time to your drop-off point. If your child travels by plane or commercial bus, you must arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled time for pick-up or drop-off.

As of today, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends students and staff on school buses wear masks to protect against COVID-19. Weekends Home staff will continue to practice and encourage careful hygiene and mask wearing on the bus and at the stops. We ask that parents be mindful at the stops that some of our students and staff may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other people in their community. More information about TSBVI’s COVID-19 response for school year 2021-2022 will be made available to families in early August

• Friday
  • 1:55 p.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 6:45 p.m. – arrive Mesquite
• Sunday
  • 9:00 a.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 1:30 p.m. – depart Mesquite
  • 6:15 p.m. – arrive TSBVI

• Friday
  • 1:55 p.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 3:00 p.m. – depart Belton
  • 4:00 p.m. – depart Waco
  • 5:30 p.m. – arrive Fort Worth
• Sunday
  • 9:00 a.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 1:30 p.m. – depart Fort Worth
  • 3:45 p.m. – depart Waco
  • 5:00 p.m. – depart Belton
  • 6:00 p.m. – arrive TSBVI

• Friday
  • 1:55 p.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 4:45 p.m. – depart Sealy
  • 5:45 p.m. – arrive Houston
• Sunday
  • 9:30 a.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 1:45 p.m. – depart Houston
  • 3:00 p.m. – depart Sealy
  • 5:00 p.m. – arrive TSBVI

• Friday
  • 12:45 p.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 3:15 p.m. – depart Franklin
  • 5:30 p.m. – arrive Jacksonville
• Sunday
  • 9:00 a.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 12:45 p.m. – depart Jacksonville
  • 3:15 p.m – arrive Franklin
  • 5:00 p.m. – arrive TSBVI

• Friday
  • 1:55 p.m. – depart TSBVI
  • 4:00 p.m. – arrive San Antonio
  • 5:30 p.m. – arrive George West
  • 6:30 p.m. – arrive Corpus Christi
• Sunday
  • 9:00 a.m.  – depart TSBVI
  • 1:30 p.m. – arrive Corpus Christi
  • 2:30 p.m. – arrive George West
  • 4:15 p.m. – arrive San Antonio
  • 5:15 p.m. – arrive TSBVI

Corpus Route – San Antonio stop

Applebee’s
7880 IH35 N
San Antonio, TX 78218

Corpus Route – George West stop

Stipes # 2446
1800 I-37
George West, TX 78022

Corpus Route – Calallen / Corpus Christi stop

Bill Miller Bar-B-Q / Valero
I-69 (access road)
Calallen, TX 78410

Academy Store
1665 N Town East Blvd.
Mesquite, TX 75150

Fort Worth Route – Belton stop

Cefco Convenience Store
1702 Taylor’s Valley Road
Belton, TX 76513

Fort Worth Route – Waco stop

Pilot Travel Center
8055 IH-35 Frontage Road
Robinson, TX 75150

Fort Worth Route – Fort Worth stop

Tarrant County College (TCC) South Campus Student Center
5301 Campus Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76119

Houston Route – Sealy stop

Prasek’s
2949 SW I-10 Frontage Road
Sealy, TX 77474

Houston Route – Houston stop

Region 4 Service Center
7200 Northwest Drive
Houston, TX 77092

Jacksonville Route – Franklin stop

Mudd Creek Country Store
1736 W Hwy 79
Franklin, TX 77856

Jacksonville Route – Jacksonville stop

Schlotzsky’s
1664 S. Jacksonville Street (Hwy 69)
Jacksonville, TX 75766

Residential and/or instructional staff are responsible for ensuring that their students pack clothes, personal items, music players and other items that the student may need for the weekend. Please contact residential or day staff if you have specific items that you would like for your child to bring home on weekends. Also, for those students who may need a change on the bus, please provide between one to three changes of clothes and at least three diapers/pull-ups. These actions will help preserve your child’s dignity and comfort throughout the trip. Thanks for your help!

Because the buses are often crowded we like travel to be fairly quiet if possible. Most students socialize or listen to music or play games on an iPad. If your child has a favored leisure activity or toy that will help make travel relaxing for them, please send it along. If you know of an activity that soothes your child when they are upset please let us know that as well.

Buses make one scheduled stop each way. The bus makes additional stops as needed, however we ask that you please take your child to the toilet prior to boarding the bus and refrain from providing excessive beverages before travel. Thank you. This really helps keep the trips as short as possible.

We will provide snacks for each student for the Friday trip. Please feed your child lunch before bringing them to the bus on Sundays. We do not provide snacks or lunch for the Sunday trip. Water and juice are available for students on all trips. Please do not give students large drinks before boarding the bus. Unplanned bathroom stops slow down the trip considerably.

No, due to time constraints and staffing issues, students may not buy snacks or other items at stores during the bus trips. Please plan ahead by providing snacks for return trips.

Snacks are prepared by the TSBVI Food Service department in accordance with dietary restrictions and allergy information provided to the Health Center. Please keep all information current so that we may provide a safe and healthy meal for your child.

We will not be able to change the Weekends Home schedule assigned to your child except in emergency or critical situations. If you believe that you have an emergency or critical situation and would like to request a change in your child’s schedule, this must be done no later than 4:00pm on the day before travel will occur. For travel changes please contact your students: Dorm Manager, the Health Center and the Coordinator of the Weekends Home Program.

We will notify you of any cancellations or significant delays due to weather or any other unforeseen circumstances.

For everyone’s safety, TSBVI has strict rules about who can pick up your child at the bus stop. Please be certain anyone who will pick up your student on Drop-off days is on their Weekends Home Permission list. You will complete this list at registration. Please bring the full name and phone numbers of all the people you want on your student’s permission list. If you need to add someone later in the year contact Cathy Olsen olsenc@tsbvi.edu  (512) 206-9182 or your student’s dorm manager or Gian Calaci calacig@tsbvi.edu (512) 206-9231.  Please take care of this before travel days.

Students experiencing a temperature above 100 degrees, diarrhea, or vomiting will not be allowed to return on the bus or van in order to protect the other students from a contagion. If a staff member observes a student with any type of medical or health problem indicating that the child may not be healthy enough to return on the bus or van, the staff member may contact the TSBVI Health Center and describe the problem to the nurse on duty. The nurse will determine whether the student will be allowed to return on the bus or van. The staff member will inform you of the nurse’s determination.

Each bus has a Medications Sponsor who is responsible for picking up student medications from the Health Center on Fridays. Please meet this person at your stop to get your child’s medication. If you forget to do this we will call you and ask you to return to the bus stop. If we cannot reach you by phone within a reasonable time period, your child’s meds will be returned to the Health Center at TSBVI.

On Sundays please give all medications to the Medication Sponsor on your route. Do not pack medications in luggage, your child will not be allowed to board the bus until you give all medication to the bus Medication Sponsor, this is for everyone’s safety. EMS must be able to locate all meds easily, in the event of an emergency.

If you forget to bring your child’s medication to the bus or the prescription is not full enough to treat the student until her next visit home, your child may not be allowed to return to school. This will be determined by the Administration at TSBVI. The bus Medication Sponsors are not allowed to let a student on the bus until they have all the students’ medications. Thank you for your attention to this very important detail for travel.

Weekends Home staff have a 40-hour training week at the beginning of each year and on-going training, as needed. Weekends Home staff are formally trained in: First Aid and CPR, bus evacuation procedures, emergency procedures, basic sign language, Orientation and Mobility, Positive Behavioral Support Techniques and MANDT. Staff are also given professional development opportunities throughout the year to increase the quality of care that your child receives.

Please remember that we will not be responsible for any money or valuables you send back with your child. Our staff is not allowed to accept money, and we strongly discourage parents from sending any money or valuables in students’ luggage.

Until the staff are familiar with you, you may be asked to show an ID before being allowed to pick up a student. This is for everyone’s safety.

(512) 454-8631

(512) 844-5173

(512) 206-9136
(512) 206-9138
(512) 300-1527
on campus emergencies dial 444

Please update the dorm manager each week about any travel changes.

If there’s an emergency and you need to change plans on the day of travel call:

Gian Calaci
Coordinator, Weekends Home Program 512-206-9231
512-844-9362
calacig@tsbvi.edu

Brownwood Bus (512) 906-6254

Dallas Bus (512) 844-8731

Fort Worth Bus (512) 844-8801

Houston I Bus (512) 844-8815

Houston II Bus (512) 844-7299

Jacksonville Bus (512) 296-0675

Corpus Bus (512) 300-3672

Mark Rodgers (512) 206-9641 rogersm@tsbvi.edu

Jennifer Daily (512) 206-9104 dailyj@tsbvi.edu

Jennifer Hysaw (512) 206-9333 hysawj@tsbvi.edu

Sherri Hayes (512) 206-9227 hayess@tsbvi.edu

Liz Livesay (512) 206-9276 livesayl@tsbvi.edu

Cory McKinney (512) 206-9228 mckinneyc@tsbvi.edu

Jenelle Racher (512) 206-9372 racherj@tsbvi.edu

Tammy Reed (512) 206-9292 reedt@tsbvi.edu

Shara Williams (512) 206-9180 williamss@tsbvi.edu

Megan Czapla (512) 206-9264 czaplam@tsbvi.edu

Tiayr Bradshaw (512) 206-9275 bradshawt@tsbvi.edu