Operations nationwide get creative this season amid pandemic restrictions, with decorated buses and trees, virtual student participation in a parade, and story time with "Santa."
PHOTOS: Pupil Transporters Share Holiday Spirit
Holiday story time: Dave Grogan, the transportation director at Keokuk (Iowa) Community School District, gave a virtual reading of the famous poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” more commonly known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas" for Hawthorne Elementary School students.
Photo courtesy Megan Leenerts
The Christmas tree in the transportation department of Greenville (S.C.) Public Schools is festive, and sports a timely theme. “We are extremely proud that our Christmas tree is following safety procedures. As you see, it is using PPE and wearing mask and a shield,” Teena Mitchell, special-needs transportation coordinator for the district, joked to School Bus Fleet.
Photo courtesy Dwain Hayes
School bus drivers from Peace Wapiti Public School Division in Alberta, Canada, spruced up their buses with Christmas decor for students.
Photo courtesy La Glace School, Peace Wapiti Public School Division.
In the spirit of giving, the transportation team at Mesquite (Texas) Independent School District donated and delivered Christmas gifts to 60 students who don't currently have permanent, fixed addresses.
Photo courtesy Rebekah Currin-McGowan
The team hopes to inspire other transportation departments to host similar donation drives for the next holiday season.
Photo courtesy Rebekah Currin-McGowan
Everman (Texas) Independent School District bus driver Eric Tesdall and Jason Gillis, the district’s transportation director, show off their holiday spirit with festive sweaters.
Photo courtesy Everman Independent School District
Buster the Bus provides a festive holiday greeting to those visiting the transportation office of Lincoln County (N.C.) Schools.
Photo courtesy Leighann Campbell
On a more serious note, Mitchell added, the department’s “Thankful Tree,” which is adorned with messages from staff members listing what they are grateful for, helps employees “take a minute to appreciate what we do have in such a unstable pandemic environment.”
Photo courtesy Dwain Hayes
Bus drivers for Sullivan (Ill.) Community Unit School District #300 weren’t deterred from spreading holiday cheer by the cancellation of the local Christmas parade due to inclement weather. Instead, the transportation department outfitted one of the buses with lights and its own face mask and took it to visit all of the local nursing homes. “I am so blessed to have such a great team,” said Kevin Landrus, director of transportation and maintenance for the district, in a LinkedIn post.
Photo courtesy Sullivan (Ill.) Community Unit School Dist #300
Oskaloosa (Iowa) Christian School bus entry in the Oskaloosa Parade of Lights event won first place in the People's Choice category for its unique use of iPads. “We recorded our students waving to the parade crowd [to create a] ‘reverse parade' format, and it struck a chord,” Don Mitchell, the district’s principal, told SBF.
Photo courtesy Oskaloosa Christian School
Glendale (Ariz.) Elementary School District #40 held its annual Turkey Drive and received 106 donated turkeys, which the transportation department delivered to schools for families in need over the Thanksgiving holiday. “It was wonderful,” Doris Bean, the manager of transportation for the district told SBF. “This year the need was even greater.”
Photo courtesy Glendale Elementary School District #40
Despite not being in service due to the pandemic, James G. Davis Bus Co., a school bus contractor based in Fallston, Md., still found a way to spread some holiday cheer by decorating one of its buses with Christmas lights. The owner, Steven Davis, decorated the bus himself.
Photo courtesy Steven Davis
Some school bus drivers for Piqua (Ohio) City Schools dressed up for their routes and gave candy to their students. Even “The Grinch” grew a heart and joined in the fun, Beth Cain, the district’s transportation director, told SBF.
Photo courtesy Beth Cain