Salem-Keizer Public Schools put its 300-bus fleet through dry-run routes Thursday, Aug. 27, giving drivers a rehearsal before tens of thousands of students board for the first time next month.

Drivers gathered at the Gaffin Road Transportation Lot in southeast Salem by 6:15 a.m. to test their assigned routes, Salem Reporter reported.

The newspaper followed longtime driver Misrak Tesfaye on her test run through the district, documenting the early-morning preparations as daylight broke over the Willamette Valley.

The district serves 37,982 students across 65 schools in Salem and Keizer. The dry run is meant to catch timing problems, road detours and stop-sequence errors before the real thing.

Staggered start dates

School starts Tuesday, Sept. 8, for sixth graders and high school freshmen, according to the district's back-to-school page.

All other students in grades 1-5, 7-8 and 10-12 report Wednesday, Sept. 9. That is a late-start day. All Salem-Keizer schools begin one hour late every Wednesday.

Kindergartners follow a separate schedule. Transition days are Sept. 14 for students with last names A-L and Sept. 15 for M-Z. The first full day for all kindergartners is Wednesday, Sept. 16, also a late-start day.

Finding your route

Families can look up their child's bus route and stop time using the district's online bus finder at busfinder.salkeiz.k12.or.us.

The district's transportation page also covers bus-rider basics and registration. Parents who haven't registered their child to ride should do so before the first day to ensure a seat assignment.

Free transit option

Students who don't ride a district bus have another option. The Cherriots Youth Zero Pass lets anyone from birth through age 18 ride Cherriots Local, Regional and Lift buses at no cost for the 2026-27 school year. The program is a partnership between Cherriots, the City of Salem and the City of Keizer.

The first buses roll with students aboard Sept. 8.