Here, we share photos from events around the country that were held in February in celebration of Love the Bus month, which honors school bus drivers and highlights the important role that pupil transportation plays in students' education.
Love the Bus 2013
The transportation staff at Glendale (Ariz.) Elementary School District No. 40 chose a 1960s theme for their Love the Bus celebration.
The transportation team at Henderson (Ky.) County Schools was treated to lunch as part of the operation's Love the Bus festivities.
The employees also received this festive cake. Driver Training Coordinator Kay Tegethoff says Henderson County Judge/Executive Donald Hugh McCormick also proclaimed February 2013 as Love the Bus month.
Dr. June Atkinson, state superintendent of the public schools of North Carolina, showed her support for Love the Bus month, riding on a bus and then celebrating with drivers at an elementary school in Rutherford County.
Also in North Carolina, the transportation employees at Pender County Schools were treated to this cake.
Also as part of the VAPT festivities, these school bus-shaped cookies were distributed.
In Wisconsin, school bus contractor Dousman Transport Co. Inc. drivers were treated to these cookies. CEO Magda Dimmendaal says a local bakery made 200 of these cookies for the drivers.
Manager of Transportation Doris Bean says the team had a lot of fun at their celebration this year. The staff's goal is to "engage safety and instill how important it is not to bully on the school bus," Bean adds.
In Houston, the office of Mayor Annise D. Parker recognized the transportation department staff at Houston Independent School District by lighting City Hall in yellow for six days.
Outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited students at Tuckahoe Elementary School in Arlington, Va., in honor of Love the Bus month, and the students sang and rapped for him.
LaHood focused on two themes during his chat with students: the school bus as the safest way to get to and from school, and the importance of being nice and polite to school bus drivers.
The following week, the Virginia Association for Pupil Transportation (VAPT) organized a Love the Bus rally in downtown Richmond at the Capitol Square Mall bell tower.
For attendees of the event, the Pulaski County high school drama group put on a play re-interpreting "The Wizard of Oz" as a story about riding the bus.