When I told a family friend, a former elementary school district superintendent, that I was on the staff of a magazine serving the school bus industry, her response was, “Whoa, talk about a marginalized population.”
As a superintendent, she must have dealt with the transportation department on a regular basis. From her perspective, and perhaps that of the larger school community as well, transportation was in the margins. From where I sit today, I see a vibrant, engaged and dedicated community represented by the people I’ve met in the school bus industry.
But after our conversation, I kept thinking about her characterization and saw some truths in it. With operations often located off-campus, and staff relegated to the bus depot or their routes, it’s easy to see how the transportation department could feel cut off from the rest of the school system — the administration, teachers, other departments and even the students who don’t ride the bus, which is sometimes a large population.
However, transportation is a key element of the school system. Drivers interact with students and parents as frequently and intimately as teachers do. Transportation requires a sizeable chunk of the district’s budget. And school buses provide a safe haven between school and home. The job is not marginal at all.
How can transportation administrators and school bus drivers counteract this sense of isolation? Here are a few suggestions: