If school districts and contractors are having problems recruiting and retaining bus drivers, you might expect budget-strapped Head Start agencies to have even rougher times filling their driving slots. But the reality is that Head Start operators, although not awash in drivers, are managing to get their routes completed without much difficulty. The explanation is fairly simple. Head Start drivers typically are not driving for the money. If they were, the $6- to $7-an-hour wages would quickly wear thin. Obviously, there are other reasons why they drive. "I think it's the idea that they're making a difference with these families," says Kathy Potts, transportation coordinator of the South Central Community Action Head Start in Bloomington, Ind. "We know we're here not for the wage," Potts says. "We're here because of the lives that we touch and the fact that we can have that one-on-one contact and make that difference for those parents." Unlike school districts, Head Start agencies can rely on drawing drivers and aides from the parent pool. Word of mouth among this group can help to pull even more parents into the loop. But that doesn't mean that Head Start transportation coordinators don't need to recruit. They use many of the same techniques that their school district counterparts use, such as classified advertising in local newspapers. Potts says her drivers also assist in the recruiting process, canvassing for college students at nearby Indiana University.
More than just drivers
Once drivers are brought into the fold, Potts tries to keep them there by offering more than time behind the wheel. She says that her drivers serve as the main contact for Head Start parents and are responsible for relaying messages between parents and staff, driving on field trips, and teaching the children about school bus safety. Mary Anne Schutz, transportation coordinator of Warren County Head Start in Glen Falls, N.Y., also believes that providing additional duties to drivers helps with retention and offers other benefits. "The advantage of that [various driver duties] is that the drivers get to know the kids, they know the classroom, they know about the Head Start philosophy and what we're trying to do and why we're trying to do it," Schutz says. Barb Sylvester, transportation coordinator for the Community Action Agency Head Start program serving Jackson and Hillsdale Counties near Ann Arbor, Mich., says that difficulty in retaining bus monitors has forced them to try an alternative strategy. Instead of just hiring people to watch the children, Sylvester says her agency tries to find monitors who can double as substitute bus drivers. Thus, they're required to obtain CDLs and undergo driver training. Linda Flaugher, a transportation coordinator who works with Sylvester, says that when there are openings for bus monitors and drivers, they try to get current parent volunteers to make the switch and become paid staff members.
