I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.
Depending on where you live and how the bus system is set up will depend on how the routes start and end in both morning and evening. Some districts have the schools separated on each bus by school/grade level. For example there may be high school routes, middle school routes, and elementary routes that all start and end at different times based on when those schools start and end their day. Alternatively you may live in a county that puts all grade levels on each bus. There are positives and negatives to this. A positive is that if you are a family that has older siblings, the older ones are riding with the younger ones and you don't have to worry as much about childcare when your high schooler gets off with your second grader. Due to the distance from the schools will depend on when each route needs to start. You can guarantee that the one that starts early will end late in the afternoon due to the distance they have to cover with children.
Yes. If the kids fighting draws blood in any way shape or form, i immediately call the police. If i am close enough to a school i have the administrators called out. If not i tell parents and write up kids.
Again that varies district by district. Some districts have a sub list, others have an automated system and still others will have the traditional call in and have your supervisor find somebody to run your route.
It sounds like the monitor might not need to be on the bus but you can ask for video to be pulled which has audio recording and it will also show if your child was showing out and the monitor was correcting her by telling her to sit down and behave. We have a lot of kids who try to get us as drivers in trouble for saying things when they are angry they got in trouble in the first place.
iPhone & iPad Technician
What brand do you think has the poorest quality / workmanship?
Court Reporter
If your special keyboard lets you type 200+ words per minute, why doesn't everyone use them?
Toymaker
With all the high-tech kids toys, is there still a demand for traditional ones?
It depends on district policy as to what is acceptable in certain circumstances. We live in an entitled world where the thought process is me first and never tell me "no". Sadly this is not how the world works primarily and the sooner kids learn this concept the better. For me, if a child is a chronically late person, they get bus left and i will not return to pick them up. If the child has never been late and was just having a bad morning or an off morning, i might consider going back if its not too far out of my way. We also have a policy that they need to be out at each stop 5 min prior to avoid issues like this.
I'm not entirely sure what the gold line flag stands for.
That depends on the distance to the home. If the child is still 45 minutes from getting home, we will often make a decision to let them use the restroom at a school approved location (ie another school or the board office or the bus barn) Little kids are not as able to hold their bladders like older kids are.
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