The Importance of the School Bus Driver

If you have ever worked in an elementary school, you know that for many students the transition from the bus ride to the classroom can be difficult. The bus is often unsupervised and unsafe. Although the drivers try their best to maintain order on their bus, they are most concerned with driving carefully and getting children to school safe and sound. Because of this unstructured environment, students often get off the bus feeling unsettled and not prepared to learn.

A bus driver named Dennis Stricker has discovered not only how to provide a safe ride, but how to keep his passengers (students) engaged by playing a trivia game with them. Sue Powell, principal at Garlough Elementary in West St. Paul, Minnesota claims, “The students who ride Sticker’s bus arrive at school excited and ready to learn. It sets the tone for the students’ day.”

If all students arrived at school ready to learn like those on Mr. Sticker’s bus, student achievement would certainly rise. While we are constantly looking at new ways to improve student achievement, it might behoove us to take a look at how we might begin the students’ day not when they enter the school, but when they board the bus.

To read the article on how Dennis Sticker helps prepare students for school please go to:

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_19619252