St. Joseph School District and First Student seeking bus drivers
By Zac Scott
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- With winter approaching, the St. Joseph School Department is searching for more bus drivers.
First Student School Bus Driver Jennifer Johnson has been transporting students for more than half a decade.
Johnson said, being the first person students see on their way to school gives her a chance to change their day for the better.
"I feel like us being a smiling face that they get to see every single morning and afternoon, a consistency I feel like the kids really need in their lives, and so being able to help be consistent with some of the kids is just I really... I think that's very important," said Johnson
School bus drivers like Johnson assist local parents with transporting their students under different circumstances.
"Not all the parents have vehicles to get them to and from school. So, if we don't have enough drivers, they're just not going to get to school," said Johnson.
First Student Location Manager Mark Alexander directs buses to give drivers the safest way to get students to school and back.
Alexander said school bus drivers are essential to the community, not because of who they transport, but what they transport students to.
"We are a part of this community, and not only do our children and grandchildren ride this bus," said Alexander. We provide transportation for children to get them to school, to gain that education, to be successful, and to become great contributors to our own community."
There is a stigma about school bus drivers being an underappreciated job. Alexander believes keeping students safe on their way to school will shut down the stigma.
"Individuals believe that a bus driver is a very thankless job and that they don't want to drive a school bus because of the children," said Alexander. You know what? Children are, children, right? And they're going to be who they are. It just depends upon how you manage that bus, to keep your children in line and keep them safe."
First Student is willing to work with anyone willing to transport the future of St. Joseph, safely, back and forth from school.
More information about job openings is on the First Student website.
