How BHMSD staff members are connecting with students through bus driving.
By JONATHAN SNYDER
What do a school counselor, a lunch lady and a transportation director have in common? For the Bluffton Harrison Metropolitan School District, they all drive buses.
Currently, staff members at BHMSD are doubling as substitute bus drivers. While the district has no problem filling the daily need for drivers, the last few years have seen the demand for substitutes rise.
“I would say in the last five, seven years, it’s been more of a struggle to get people interested and then also through the training process,” said Superintendent Brad Yates.
Assistant Superintendent Julie Meitzler proposed the idea of using staff members as substitute drivers. After discussion with department heads, notices were sent out to the district staff. The BHMSD saw some interest from a variety of offices.
“I love the fact that they (the staff) jumped in,” said Transportation Coordinator Kassandra Osborn, who substitutes as needed. “As a substitute driver … they have to try to either read a map or read directions or have a student explain to them where they’re supposed to be going. When we have staffers from the building … they know a lot of the kids. That’s one less stress on (the drivers).”
Osborn clarified that knowing which pupils are trustworthy leads to an avenue for asking questions about the route. Riders already see the substitutes as authority figures because of their past experiences and are willing to respond more favorably than to a driver they have never met. It’s also a joy for the kids to see some of their favorite teachers and staff members driving them around.
“I think the connections … I can make that are beneficial would be things like if they’re having some conflict on the bus with a peer, more than likely I’m going to know both of the kids involved,” said elementary school Guidance Counselor Kole Meyer, who takes routes occasionally. “And that’s a beautiful thing because it just enriches that relationship they have with their bus driver.”
Meyer obtained his Commercial Driver’s License two summers ago after extensive learning on his own time. His original plan was to become a bus driver after retirement, but the need accelerated his plans.
“We (Meyer and his wife) just kept seeing the need for bus drivers,” said Meyer. “And so I started thinking, well, maybe I shouldn’t wait until then. It’s just another avenue to be super positive (and) to be a role model.”
After studying a 30-page manual from the BHMSD transportation department, Meyer then had to study the manual from the Indiana Department of Transportation, the CDL manual from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and then take his CDL test in Fort Wayne.
It takes a lot of work outside the office to get certified, but the opportunity to build connections with their passengers makes the effort worth it. Every minute of extra time spent with them can mean a world of difference.
“We’ve all heard this for years that the teachers are such an influence on students and make such an impact,” said Osborn. “Well, it’s really everybody within the corporation (that) does, whether it’s, maybe it’s a custodian that notices a student … having a bad day, or it’s a cafeteria worker or it’s a secretary. Bus drivers are the same thing.”
Even though the BHMSD is still searching for substitute drivers, the moment when pupils see someone caring for them at the first and last opportunity holds a lot of weight for both kids and staff.
“For a majority of our students, they (bus drivers) are the first person that the student sees and the last person that they see on any given school day,” said Yates. “So they get to have that opportunity that our drivers have that opportunity to kind of take a checkpoint on those students.”
“They (bus drivers) also can say, ‘Hey, have a great night. I’ll see you tomorrow,’” said Meyer. “So they can start and stop … begin and end each day for these students in such a positive way. And so that is incredible.”
jonathan@news-banner.com
