We don’t want to be forced to leave Gum Spring Middle School. It is where we have grown up, found our confidence, and built a community that feels like home. For years, students from the Tall Cedars Parkway and Wakestone Park area have been proud to call Gum Spring their school. We have made close friendships, learned from teachers who truly know us, and become part of something that has shaped who we are. Now, with rezoning moving our neighborhood to J. Michael Lunsford, we are being told that we can stay at Gum Spring for our final year, but without bus transportation.

Moving to a new school for just one year before high school does not make sense. It would mean adjusting to unfamiliar teachers, schedules, and environments right when we are preparing for one of the biggest transitions of our lives. Gum Spring is where we have found stability and belonging; changing that now would take away the relationships and routines we have built since sixth grade. We have earned the right to finish what we started: to complete middle school with the same teachers, classmates, and community that have helped us grow.

But taking away bus transportation makes that choice almost impossible. Many families in our neighborhood cannot drive students to and from school every day. Parents work full time, often start early, or have younger kids with different school schedules. During winter months, when roads are icy and mornings are darker, driving back and forth multiple times a day becomes even more challenging. Without buses, families are left struggling to find a safe and reliable way to get students to school.

We are not asking for special treatment, just fairness and understanding. In other school rezonings across Loudoun County, students have been allowed to finish their final year with bus service provided. Rising 8th graders have only one year left; we deserve that same opportunity to stay connected to our school and finish where we started, without transportation becoming a barrier to our education.

Additionally, providing bus transportation for our neighborhood wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, as our area is already along the route from other nearby neighborhoods that currently receive bus service. Since buses already pass through or near our community, extending the route slightly to include our stop would be efficient and make a big difference for the students here.

Providing buses for one more year would mean much more than just a ride to school. It would give us the continuity, support, and sense of completion that every student deserves. It would also give parents peace of mind knowing their children have a consistent and dependable way to get to school each day. It would mean finishing middle school with pride and unity, not stress and uncertainty.

We are asking Loudoun County Public Schools to support rising 8th graders by providing bus transportation for those who choose to stay at Gum Spring Middle School. One year of transportation may not seem like a big change, but to us, it means everything: fairness, dependability, and the chance to finish middle school where we truly belong.