Have you ever heard a conversation at
your transportation department similar
to this one?
Dispatcher at 3:10 p.m.: Base to bus 239.
Driver: 239. Go ahead.
Dispatcher: Do you have Madeline Dallessandro
on your bus?
Driver: No, I don’t.
Dispatcher: Her mom is on the phone, and
she says she was in school today.
Driver: Well, she is not on my bus.
Dispatcher: Base to all elementary buses,
we are looking for a student named Madeline
Dallessandro; she may have boarded
one of your buses accidentally.
Another driver: Base, this is bus 241. I don’t
have her.
Another driver: Base, this is bus 56. I also
do not have her.
Driver: Base, this is bus 239 — I actually
do have her. She was sitting behind me, but I
did not know who she was.
I heard this at my own operation. What is
unfortunate about this scenario is that it always
seems to involve the same drivers.
In my professional opinion, about 95 percent
of the school bus drivers in any pupil
transportation operation care enough
about their kids to learn their names, and
they take great pride in knowing them. It
is the remaining 5 percent, who seem too
lazy to make an effort to get to know their
passengers, that force us to go through the
kind of two-way radio exchange at dismissal
that I described.
In addition to sounding disorganized,
these drivers risk causing a catastrophic
incident, such as dropping off a child at the
incorrect stop or not knowing which students
are on a bus if it is involved in an accident.
This could have tragic consequences,
not only for the students and the driver,
but for the transportation department as a
whole.
To prevent these types of occurrences, I will
provide you with some points to share with
your drivers that explain why it is important
to know the names of their students, as well
as tips that will help them learn and remember
students’ names.
Learning names improves
student behavior, safety
If you compared two buses that
transport students of the same age
from the same elementary school, one
having very few disciplinary issues
and the other having rampant issues,
I am sure you will find that the driver
with fewer disciplinary problems
knows the names of his or her students.
Of course, this is probably tied
into the other good habits that driver
has, such as remaining on the same
route instead of constantly bidding
around, being fair to all parties involved
in an issue, having a good attitude
and establishing clear rules with
consequences for his or her bus.
Overall, however, learning students’
names is a primary component of a
driver’s success. Kids know when a
driver doesn’t know who they are, and
they feel they can get away with more
because of that.
By extension, learning students’
names enhances safety on the bus.
Simply barking “Look out!” might get
everyone’s attention, but “Get back on
the bus, Eddie!” could save a life or
prevent a student from getting seriously
injured.
Knowing names signifies respect,
bolsters parents’ confidence
Names are also important to the
individuals who have them. Think
about how you would feel if your
boss knew everyone’s name in the
district except yours.
Names connect individuals to their
families — many people are named after
a parent, grandparent or a person of
great importance to their parents — or
they may have historical significance
or be tied to a certain era. For example,
from 1880 to 1950, Mary was the No. 1
choice for a girl’s name. Others listed
in the top five during that period were
James, Linda, Michael and Barbara.
Today’s top names are Jacob, Emily,
Isabella, Daniel and Abigail, with a few
more-unusual names, such as Honor
and Sunday, mixed in.
Taking these factors into consideration,
knowing a person’s name is a
sign of respect. While most of my drivers
don’t mind being called “Mr. or
Mrs. Bus Driver” when a child is trying
to get his or her attention, most of
them will admit that they like it when
the students call them by their names.
The students will feel the same way if
drivers give them the same courtesy.
In the television show “Cheers,” the
underlying theme was that the bar was
a place “where everybody knows your
name,” and that meant it felt like home.
When I walk into my favorite restaurant
and the host says, “Hello, Mr. Dallessandro,
I’ll be with you in one minute,”
I have to admit that I feel a bit like a VIP.
Your district’s students will feel the same
way and experience a sense of comfort if
they board their buses and their drivers
greet them by their names.
Lastly, knowing students’ names will
make you and your staff appear more professional to principals and parents.
When a parent approaches a driver
with a concern about a student sitting
in the back of the bus wearing a red
T-shirt and your driver doesn’t know
who the student is, the parent’s confidence in your driver or operation will
go down the tubes.
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Create a seating chart for each
bus route
School bus drivers and monitors already
have a considerable amount of
information to store in their memory,
so to many of them the thought of
learning the names of, say, 100 students
can be daunting.
The most important thing we can do
for our drivers is make sure they understand
that we do not expect them
to sit home every night and study their
rosters. While I am sure there are some
who put that much effort into learning
about every aspect of their routes, that
amount of preparation is not needed.
One of the easiest ways to learn a
group of students’ names and maintain
good bus behavior is to create and use
a seating chart for each of your school
routes. This takes effort, and it may not
make your drivers popular in the eyes
of the students in the beginning, but you
must remember that kids like structure.
Do not interpret the chaos they create
while boarding the bus, pushing
and shoving with the freedom to roam
and pick their own seats, as something
that is fun for them. It might appear that
way because the kids sound spirited,
but there are many who silently dread
this daily activity. That unruly environment
is especially difficult for kids who
have a hard time finding a seat every
day because they are not “cool,” are not
in the right clique, or are timid or shy.
No one wants to be told by another
student where he or she can or cannot
sit. Seating charts eliminate this indirect
form of bullying and help your
drivers learn students’ names quickly.
Also, bus damage or student squabbles
are much easier to deal with
when drivers know who is assigned
to a particular seat.
Keep a roster of students,
engage in name games
All drivers should keep an up-to-date
route sheet or roster and use it
daily to help them learn the names of
their students; substitute drivers will
find this information essential to their
success as well when they are assigned
to cover a route.
A route sheet or roster will also help
drivers in the event of an accident or
emergency. They need to know who
is on their bus, so as students board,
they must ask them who they are or
check their name tags if they are very
young students. They should check
off their names on the roster or route
sheet while simultaneously saying the
names aloud. If a student has a particular
item that he or she carries or wears
regularly, such as a Buffalo Bills jacket
or a Hannah Montana backpack, make
that connection to his or her name.
Drivers can also spend time when
parked at school sites playing a name-guessing
game with the students. Just
remind them to keep it simple, fun and
positive. They should avoid getting the
kids fired up to the point where they
start chanting names of other students
in a rowdy or sarcastic tone, as parents
may call and complain.
Your drivers will most likely have to
spend time learning the names of the
well-behaved or quiet children. Drivers
almost always know the names of
students who regularly stir things up
on their bus!
An industry-wide effort
With custody disputes being commonplace
and child predators residing
in many communities, today’s children
live in dangerous and unsettling
times. School bus drivers can provide
an important safety net for the children
they transport by taking time to
get to know them.
Would one of your drivers know if
Bethany failed to board the bus one
day? Would the driver even know
who Bethany is? If not, I certainly
hope he or she will after you finish
discussing with your drivers why
it is essential to learn their students’
names and have relayed these tips to
assist them in this mission.
We are in this business to help one
another safely transport students to
and from school. Have your drivers
established creative ways to get
to know their students and their
names? Let me know. Send an e-mail
to MPDBUS1@aol.com.
Michael Dallessandro is transportation supervisor at Lake Shore Central School District in Angola, N.Y., and a frequent contributor to SBF. His Website is www.respondsmart.com.