“The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round, ’round and ’round, ’round and ’round. The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round, all through the town … The driver on the bus says ‘move on back, move on back, move on back.’ The driver on the bus says, ‘move on back,’ all through the town.”

School bus drivers say and do a lot more than this traditional song implies. For many students, the bus driver is the start and the finish of the school day. Not only do the bus drivers safely transport the children to and from school, they also offer a friendly face, an understanding ear, and the model of hard work done well.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a version of this story. A young student gets on the wrong bus by accident or falls asleep on the bus and misses their stop. Parents and school officials panic – where could the child be? – while others check playgrounds, classrooms, neighbors and friends. The school secretary makes the important first call to the bus company or the bus driver. Usually this phone call is made around the same time that the bus driver is calling the school to report the situation. The student is safely returned home by a reassuring bus driver.

Bus drivers are also finders of lost treasures. There are the ordinary lost and forgotten items – snowpants, backpacks, lunch bags – and then there are the less common but often more important lost and forgotten items – retainers and other orthodontic appliances, homework, and show and tell treasures. Thanks to the efforts of bus drivers, most of these items are returned to their rightful owners.

Last Monday and Tuesday, I got to observe the professional skills of one particular bus driver up close and personal. Kathy, a driver for Cyr Bus Co., chauffeured the Orono High School swim team safely to the Class B state meet. Kathy successfully got the team to Bowdoin College on time Monday morning despite the rain and the fog. This fog was not Carl Sandburg’s “The fog comes / on little cat feet.” It was more like, “the fog comes / on big bear feet.” It was dense and impenetrable. But Kathy safely navigated through the messy weather, along with all the other bus drivers taking students to state meets across Maine.

She reappeared outside the Bowdoin College pool when it was time to find food and to check into the motel. She was patient with the excited teenagers as they unloaded their belongings from the bus. She was ready when it was time to head back to the pool for the evening finals of the boys state meet. Kathy was creative when trying to find food for a crowd with varying budgets and tastes at 9:30 on a Monday night in a small Maine town. She parked the bus where the kids could walk safely to a couple of different places.

The next morning Kathy located a place for breakfast and delivered the swimmers on time to the pool. Again, in the afternoon she collected us, brought us to a stretch of restaurant choices, and while we rested back at the motel thanks to a generous late check-out time, refueled the bus for our trip home later that night.

Kathy’s professionalism rose above the normal expectations on the ride home at the conclusion of the meet. Shortly after the trip home began, various check-engine lights came on. Kathy quietly alerted Coach Gary Theriault and pulled into a fast-food restaurant.

While the kids were refueling their bodies, Kathy called the mechanic shop. Based on the directions she was given, she efficiently and calmly handled the apparent problem. The check-engine lights went out and the trip home resumed. However, after a few miles it was apparent that there was more wrong with the bus. Kathy called and arranged for a replacement bus to meet us in Gardiner at the Park and Ride. Kathy drove slowly with her flashers on with concentration, calmness and care. She helped the students transfer their belongings to the new bus and assisted in cleaning up the disabled bus. Kathy got the Orono High School swim team home safe and sound even if it was a bit later than we had all anticipated.

Bus drivers are an essential part of the school community. They maneuver large machines carrying our students. They manage the behavior of diverse personalities and ages. They watch out for drivers who don’t pay attention to school bus safety lights. They are another positive role model for our children. The next time you see a school bus driver, give them a friendly wave and thank them for their hard and vital work.

There are other folks who perform important roles within our school community. Do you have a school bus driver story to share? Do you have a custodian or school secretary or lunch lady story? E-mail me with your stories of the hard-working people who help our schools operate well. Send your stories to conversationswithateacher@gmail.com