For most parents, finding a way to transport their child to a first-choice school or after-school class is a challenge. For some, though, it’s even more than that: It’s a significant hurdle that prevents them from offering their children life-changing opportunities and advantages.

Almost 25 years ago, ADT made a commitment to tackle transportation barriers. ​​Free after-school and summer dance and academic programs were established in neighborhood schools for children ages five to ten. The initiative was wildly successful.  As the dancers progressed,  the 5th-grade students asked for additional summer training at the main site in South Miami. As always, transportation was a challenge. ADT came up with a temporary fix.  Drivers were hired by offering transportation stipends to the parents. Students took advantage of added training, and dance skills skyrocketed!

But, as the program grew and our students entered middle school, moving up to our “Next Steps” level, we realized the families would face new and even more difficult transportation challenges. In 2021, we proudly announced that 100% of our Community Program students were accepted into two high-performing middle schools, Southwood Middle and South Miami Community. However, their inability to physically get to those schools meant they could not attend: Our students from the north would face a daunting 20-mile commute. Parents were unable to drive such long distances, and Miami Dade County Public Schools could not provide round-trip transportation from such distant neighborhoods. This meant those students would be unable to attend those schools and advance in their dance training, a reality that was nothing short of devastating to them and resulted in many tearful conversations.