SPOKANE, Wash. — Every weekday morning at 8 a.m., 42 Regal Elementary students hear a knock on their door. It's their "Walking School Bus."

The program pairs teachers and volunteers with students who need help getting to school. The volunteers walk door-to-door, collecting students and walking them safely to school each day.

"We're out there trying to make sure that these kids safely get here," said Kevin Hutton, a Walking School Bus volunteer.

The program started to help students with attendance problems. Tony Debari, a counselor at Regal Elementary School, said transportation issues often kept students from attending school.

"Sometimes it was like I had a family where a tire literally fell off their car, and they weren't able to drive to school anymore," Debari said. "Sometimes it's

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