Shoutout to our 360 Bus Drivers and Bus Monitors: It's National School Bus Safety Week

Pamela Webb: I love the kids, the people, the atmosphere.

Dock Williams: We want them to have that smile.

Ken Slats: And that smile is infectious. Our bus drivers and bus monitors are first on the scene, helping set the tone for our students across Chatham County.

Rebecca Murphy: We actually get that very personal interaction. We build relationships with the children and the parents.

Dock Williams: We want to make sure we do our job safely, and we take pride in working for the school system. And working for ourselves too, because it's a livelihood. But those kids are the most special priority that we have.

Daniel Williams: Somewhere along the line, whether it be that end of that day or the end of the week, they will let you know that they really appreciate you in one way or another.

Ken Slats: It's that appreciation that drives our transportation workers. While we celebrate National School Bus Safety Week. We know it's these drivers, monitors and support staff members' diligence all year round that matters most.

Pamela Webb: Because when you get on that bus, you don't want to be mad, sad or upset because it transfer. The kids get out on the bus and they smile and they say, Hey Miss Pam.  And I say, hey baby.

Earnestine Wells: I might be on a bus ride because I like people, I like kids, and I will run into a lot of my kids when I left before, when I run into them, you know, they ask me when I'm coming back. When I've seen staff and I kept up with it seemed like everything that was going on.

Daniel Williams: Sometimes you may even run into them maybe at the supermarket with their parents. And what I find amazing is they may not speak while I'm on the bus, but if they see me outside of the environment, they're like, they go, my bus driver Mister D. That right there just kind of tells me, Or at least it's an indication to the impact that you may or may not be having on them.

Rebecca Murphy: They need good, positive adults, to be greeting them and saying goodbye to them, giving them encouragement. So, it's a pretty fulfilling job.

Dock Williams: We're entrusted with the care of the children, and that means a lot, because there was a precious little lives. And they are our future.

Ken Slats: Hats off to our more than 360 bus drivers and monitors, getting nearly 24,000 students to and from school safely each day for SCCPSS, I'm Ken Slats.