Our bus drivers have one of the most important jobs in the school district, safely transporting our students from home to school and vice versa. Throw in all the field trips, sporting events and contests and you are looking at thousands of miles and hours for our students each school year. It’s also on the list of jobs that conjure up comments like, “I’d never be able to do that” or “how do you deal with all those kids.” Every year bus drivers are at a premium, not only here at Northeast Nodaway but across our region, I went along with one of our driver’s requests and rode a route.
A few things became clear quickly, the students were both excited and a little confused by the principal riding their bus. They were also pretty excited to announce when their stop came up. I do have to admit that the excitement level lowered the older the student was. High school students were more skeptical and elementary kids were more excited to see me. Another thing that was very obvious was that these bus drivers take their jobs and responsibilities that go along with them very seriously.
Parents expect that their students will be transported safely. Student safety is our top priority as well. We all have a role in supporting our bus drivers. This support will not only insure a safer trip for our kids, it’ll also keep the good bus drivers around even longer. As a Principal I take the time to speak with my drivers regularly. Their eyes and ears see a whole different side of kids that sometimes needs to be brought to my attention. It’s important to meet with them, even if it’s just for a minute,and let them know that they matter to the success of our school. Parents also have a role in all of this. Talk to your kids about how to act on the bus. Make sure that they know right from wrong when it comes to this fairly unstructured time. Your driver will thank you for it. If, and hopefully not when, an issue comes up with your son or daughter on the bus. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute before casting blame on others. It’s better for everyone in the long run.
I already have plans to ride more of our routes throughout the rest of the school year. I made it on one last year and want to hit he rest this year. I’m looking forward to getting each driver’s individual perspective as I ride their route. We are very appreciative of all of our bus drivers here at Northeast Nodaway. Whether it’s getting them home every day or to the recent Northwest homecoming parade, they go above and beyond for our students. We are putting our kids in a vehicle with someone who we should be able to trust. For everyone to feel that trust we also need to be able to be able to communicate with those drivers.
