Becoming a School Bus Driver

Good luck! I'm not a bus driver, but am a school administrator and can tell you that the majority of my behavioral referrals start on the bus in the morning. The best thing I can tell you is to do what you do with your own kids...
- Set rules
- Be consistent
- Learn "who needs what"
- Keep safety first! If the kids are getting rowdy, pull over.
- Dealing with parents... remember that your only job is to get the kids to-and-from school safely. Don't get overly involved with parents and direct ALL concerns directly to the principal and/or your supervisor. Be friendly with them and always let them know if their child was involved in something on the bus, but don't get too "wordy". Let them know that someone from the district will contact them if there is any follow-up.

Many bus drivers who find themselves in challenging situations will acknowledge that at some point they stepped outside of their realm of responsibility which dragged them into something that is really an administrative issue to deal with. Just keep that in mind!

Sorry, can't really help. But I will say my cousin (she doesn't have kids, though) became a bus driver a couple years ago and loves it!! She said that of course, there are some challenging kids, but that will come no matter what you're doing (even when dealing with some "adults";).

Being consistent is one of the most important things to remember. If you let them get away with bad behavior, it will never stop and you will have to deal with it the entire school year. Set rules and boundraries early on and gain their respect.

Good luck!

I drive a special needs school bus. The best advice I can give you is to pick your battles. Anything that can become a safety issue needs to be addressed from the first issue. Tabby is absolutely correct, if you don't deal with it immediately you have an all year problem. Things that are just annoying try to ignore because sometimes the kids are just trying to get a reaction. I also assign seats. Some kids just do better if they're separated from others that get them started. And get to know there names and something about them. I find that if I get to know them I'm no longer a random authority figure but a real person that they can talk to. Not everyone will agree with that, but it works for me, and it worked for my Mother who drove a bus for more than 15 years.