Public School Drivers —
Building a Quality Workforce

Meaningful Training Equals
A Quality Workforce

Professional Development for Drivers

As stated throughout the previous chapters of this booklet, skills training and professional development are vital components of building a quality workforce. Professional development for public school bus drivers is clearly connected to enhanced student achievement. Most people also recognize that all employees should have meaningful opportunities to be "life-long learners."

Unfortunately for the public school bus driver, administrations continue to ignore these facts. The lack of meaningful training opportunities for drivers in many school districts is particularly ironic because these are school employees! Too many supervisors, administrators, and communities think bus drivers only perform duties like "driving," so little thought is given to valuable and relevant career-enhancing professional development programs.

Meaningful training for public school drivers can be defined as:

• New employee orientation programs
• In-service training programs
• Career enhancing professional development programs

Mentoring Programs

Public school drivers have a challenging and comprehensive profession that becomes more complex every year. Every aspect of what a driver does increases in dimension with every change and shift in our community environments. Remaining current and in-formed is difficult at best, and almost impossible given the lack of recognition by those in charge to provide good and meaningful programs for drivers.

An effective and exciting method to bridge the gaps in training and information is a mentoring program for drivers. Mentoring groups and programs are in fact blooming all over the country as drivers reach out for advice, support, and information from their peers.

Developing an organized and ongoing mentoring program among drivers will increase everyone's morale. Cooperation and esprit de corps enhances and contributes to a result-oriented environment. A mentoring program established by the Local Association not only provides for training and helps to protect members, it sets an example and may convince supervisors and the administration to cooperate with employees regarding professional development for drivers.

You are the Local Expert: Local Talent/Local Training

When developing training and information programs, never overlook the special expertise already present among public school bus drivers themselves. Most drivers are residents of the districts in which they work and have special skills, abilities, and connections in their communities. They not only understand the community and school district, they live in it, work in it, and vote in it! They are the firefighters, club members, parents, taxpayers, EMTs, and local volunteers. Local leaders should be aware of this expertise. How many drivers are EMTs? How many are volunteer firefighters? How many speak more than one language? How many are elected officials or sit on local government committees or boards?

These special resources are a unique and valuable part of the Driver Quality Workforce. The driver is the "local expert." He/she has the local talent, and should participate and be included in the local training.

To Section 9: Resources