WBCH offers this space to area school superintendents to highlight news in their districts. This posting is from Lakewood Public Schools Superintendent Randy Fleenor.

 

“Thank a member of our Transportation Department today!

The week of October 16 was National Bus Safety Week in our district. This is such a critical topic and the information discussed during this week is at the forefront of our thinking every week of the year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, riding on a school bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school, and school bus accidents account for less than 1 percent of all traffic fatalities each year.

 

Nonetheless, knowing safe school bus practices and discussing them with your children is paramount to keeping everyone safe on the roads. We hope that the information discussed this week at school and on social media has helped in this endeavor.

You can find all the week’s information on our Facebook timeline or call and we’d be happy to mail it out.

 

Driving a school bus isn’t an easy job. It takes a special kind of person to board a moving classroom with 30-60 young people, all eager to let loose and get home! But our drivers and paraprofessionals do it with grace and make it look pretty easy.

 

Our drivers, bus paraprofessionals, office staff, and mechanic staff all work together to ensure we provide the very best care and service possible for our student and parents.

 

Our district covers roughly 221 square miles and ranks in the top three districts for size in the Lower Peninsula. The day begins around 4:45 AM and ends around 5:00 PM. In the course of one day, routes cover about 2,100 miles. This equates to roughly11,000 miles per week.

 

Last year, the Board of Education took action to reinstate district-provided transportation to athletic events, ensuring the safety of our athletes and coaches. This was an additional 21,000 annual miles, logged after the school day.

 

All in all, our drivers travel almost 400,000 miles per year! They provide great service, safely moving approximately 1,500 students a day. Collectively, this team represents over 250 years of experience behind the wheel. These are all impressive numbers. But what is most impressive is the care they demonstrate daily for our children.

 

Our bus drivers make a difference every day in the lives of our students. For most of our student body, they are the first hello and last good bye. Our drivers have the ability and opportunity to set a positive tone each morning – maybe even turning someone’s day around.

 

Please join me in saying “thank you” to our drivers, support staff, office staff, and mechanic team for a wonderful job done each and every day.”