---
title: >-
  How One Charter School Closed the Attendance Gap and Cut Transportation Fees
  by 85%
description: >-
  Learn how KIPP Indy closed the McKinney-Vento attendance gap and cut transit
  fees by 85% with HopSkipDrive’s innovative school solutions.
date: '2026-05-04'
category: Client
tags:
  - Client Case Study
  - Success Stories
canonical_url: >-
  https://www.hopskipdrive.com/clients/charter-school-closed-attendance-gap-cut-transportation-fees/
source: hopskipdrive
license: © 2026 HopSkipDrive. All rights reserved.
slug: charter-school-closed-attendance-gap-cut-transportation-fees
id: 3LzRYsiHurvgmaMiu82ioW
contentType: article
---

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# **The Results: Closing the Attendance Gap**

By removing the logistics barriers of the broker model, KIPP Indy achieved what many districts think is impossible: bringing McKinney-Vento attendance nearly in line with the general student population.

- **10% Attendance Surge:** Over three years, average daily attendance for students experiencing homelessness rose from 77% to 86.7%.
- **Reaching Parity:** High school MKV attendance hit 87.3%, successfully closing the gap with the non-MKV population (88.8%).
- **85% Reduction in Fees:** By using transparent data to enforce no-show policies, KIPP slashed late fees and no-show costs by 85% year-over-year.
- **Immediate ROI:** In the very first week of the transition, KIPP Indy saved $1,900 in cancellation costs compared to their previous vendor, a traditional student transportation broker.

 

> *"We attribute this nearly 10% increase in attendance directly to our work with HopSkipDrive. We have finally reached a point where our McKinney-Vento students are attending school at the same rate as their peers. This improved consistency is life-changing for our families."* 
> 
> —**Angela Douglas, Managing Director of Family & Community Engagement, KIPP Indy**
> 
> 

## The Challenge: The Cost of the "Broker Trap"

KIPP Indy, a nonprofit network of college-preparatory public charter schools in Indianapolis, faces a high-stakes challenge: ensuring its high school students experiencing homelessness can actually get to the classroom.

Before partnering with HopSkipDrive, KIPP Indy was caught in the “Broker Trap.” They relied on a brokerage-based vendor that subcontracted rides to third-party fleets, creating a black hole of logistics:

- **Zero Agility:** Schedule changes required a three- to five-day lead time, making it nearly impossible to support students in sports, clubs, or tutoring.
- **Zero Visibility:** The school was being billed for no-shows with no data to verify why.
- **Sky-High Costs:** The network was facing nearly $500,000 in annual transportation costs due to this rigid, unmanaged system.

 

> *"With our previous vendor, we had no visibility into why we were being charged, and our students were missing out on opportunities because we couldn't adjust their rides fast enough."* 
> 
> —**Angela Douglas, Managing Director of Family & Community Engagement, KIPP Indy**
> 
> 

## The Solution: Direct Relationships Drive Real Accountability

KIPP Indy transitioned its McKinney-Vento transportation to HopSkipDrive, whose direct relationship with CareDrivers gave the school the transparency the broker model never could.

- **Industry-Leading Speed:** Staff can **now book rides in HopSkipDrive’s standard 6 hours and adjust them in just two hours, not five days.** If a student moves overnight, they don't miss school the next morning.
- **Student Empowerment:** High schoolers use the HopSkipDrive app to track their own rides, fostering independence and reducing stress for families.
- **Proactive Cost Management:** Using real-time reporting, KIPP implemented an accountability policy that transformed transportation from an ignored utility into a shared, valued resource.

**At KIPP Indy, transportation is no longer a logistics cost. It is a student success strategy.**

**Want to learn more about how your school or district can benefit from a partnership with HopSkipDrive?**


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