OZONE PARK, N.Y. — New York City's new education chancellor made special visits to schools and a school bus company to kick off the new school year on Wednesday.

Richard Carranza, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, met the Logan Bus Co. team at its Ozone Park headquarters to greet bus drivers on the first day of school to wish them a great start to the new school year, according to a news release from the bus company.

“You’re the first thing our children see today," Carranza said. "Make sure you greet them with a nice smile."

“It was a delight to have the chancellor here to see the operation this morning,” said Corey Muirhead, director of contracts and business development at Logan Bus. “The fact that he showed up at 5:30 a.m. to a bus depot yard proves his dedication to the children of this great city. It shows he understands that school busing is a tremendous component to education.”

Muirhead added that the drivers were honored to talk to Carranza, who spoke in both English and Spanish, and the drivers admired that he “was a very down-to-earth person.”

Carranza also spoke with Michael Tornabe, the president and owner of Logan Bus. Tornabe assured the chancellor that all of Logan’s 1,800-plus vehicles contracted with the New York City Department of Education were ready for the first day of school.

Logan Bus was the first of several stops that Carranza made to mark the first day of the new school year. He visited schools in all five boroughs, CBS New York reports. He later joined Mayor Bill de Blasio at PS 377, a school in Ozone Park, to greet students as they entered the classrooms. Below is a tweet showing Carranza on a bus during his visit at the school.  

Talking to our amazing @NYCSchools kids for some #BackToSchoolNYC wisdom. Mirabella of PS 377 says: make friends, and don’t forget to eat lunch! pic.twitter.com/GdzSvy6OkP

— Chancellor Richard A. Carranza (@DOEChancellor) September 5, 2018