184 Days of Learning

cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo shared by twicepix

Starting up a new school year from transportations perspective.

It’s one of our busiest times of the year but also rewarding to see the excitement of the students, parents, and bus drivers. Routes get adjusted to make way for new passengers as new areas develop or students switch schools, but with every decision we make trying to ensure students spend less time on school buses and routes are as safe as possible. With all of this going on, we are trying to meet the various parent requests for several drop off locations of students to meet day care requirements. We receive many positive comments, both from the children and parents about our bus drivers. The gratitude and appreciation they show to them is a reminder of the important role they play in a child’s day. One student that comes to mind this year was an eight year old girl calling me on my cell phone to confirm that a particular driver would be driving her bus. When I told her that it was she was so excited and graciously thanked me.

What I was reminded of at that moment, was it’s the little things we can do that do make a difference in a child’s life more than we realize.

Brian Hauptman has been in the School bus industry for the past twenty six years. Parkland School Division has been his home for the last twenty. He has worked on a variety provincial committees from transportation funding to new safety standards for school busses. School bus industry runs deep in his roots as his own family owned and operated school buses.