While it's true that bus driver training is already a fairly lengthy process, more school districts are starting to add another element to their curriculum: diversity training. Providing diversity training to your
school bus drivers can help them fit in better among your other district employees, as well as reduce the chances of unfortunate misunderstandings during their interactions with students or parents.
Providing such training to bus drivers is far from universal, but it could be well worth the slight addition to your training program.
Are your bus drivers doing everything they can to look after any special needs students riding the school bus?
We keep waiting for the bus driver shortage to end, but it doesn't. For years now, schools have been struggling to find enough school bus drivers to keep all their routes running, and still the problem persists. According to recent studies, 24% of districts describe their shortage to be "severe" or "desperate," and another 38% report "moderate" staffing problems. Only around 10% claim to have no driver staffing issues at all.
In short, districts will have to continue to hustle if they're going to find new drivers, and keep trying new tactics. Here are some more things to try!
It seems like states are finally starting to get serious about helping school districts overcome the ongoing school bus driver shortage. Coming right after New York's announcement of programs aimed at recruiting more drivers, Massachusetts has taken things a step further. They're activating National Guard troops to become bus drivers for in-need districts.
Tensions in America are high right now, and it's spilling over into our schools. These days, it seems like the news is full of stories about conflicts between parents and school staff, including bus drivers. There had always been occasional reports of conflicts or fights between drivers and parents, but now we're seeing such reports all the time.
The ongoing shortage of school bus drivers may be hitting a breaking point. Schools were already struggling to keep enough drivers on-staff to fulfill their transportation obligations despite the disruption of COVID-19. Now, there's a new threat: school bus driver protests and strikes.
We all know that the school bus driver shortage is a problem and that it's not getting better. In some areas, it seems, things are getting much worse. Reports have come out about how driver shortages in South Carolina are causing excessive delays and a lot of stress among local residents.
Few bus accidents could be more devastating than being hit by a train - and it does happen. While train-related accidents are rare, there have been several in the past decade. This could easily be fatal to everyone on the bus if it happens, which is why it's important that school bus drivers regularly receive railroad safety refreshers.
What are the most important aspects of railroad safety to consider? Let's take a look.
School Transportation News recently reported on a nice bit of local news: a 23-year veteran Virginia school bus driver who won $10,000 for her excellent service. Beyond simply being a great driver, she was constantly looking for ways to help her students and her community.
