Meet the Bus gets kids ready for back to school

By Kendra Simpson

First Student is giving St. Joseph students the opportunity to get comfortable with buses before the school year starts.

In an effort to ensure bus services resume as safely and smoothly as possible, First Student will be hosting four “Meet the Bus” sessions from 10 to 11 a.m. and 11 a.m. to noon on Aug. 10 and Aug. 17 at Bartlett Park.

These sessions will go over bus safety, and allow the students to explore the bus and get comfortable before the first day of classes. To encourage more families to attend, the first 25 students at each session will receive a surprise.

“You get some of the new ones that have never worked on a bus before,” First Student location manager Mark Alexander said. “So they can climb on board, take a look around, get familiar with the bus, and we’re going to have our trainers and staff out there just to make sure that they understand, ‘Hey, these are the things that we expect. These are the safety rules and regulations that we have to keep the students safe.'”

First Student has also been in the process of replacing the St. Joseph School District’s buses with new air-conditioned ones.

While these buses will not be available by the first day of school due to manufacturing delays, the district is expecting them by September.

“We’re cascading a few in just to get started, but then we have the newer buses arriving in September,” Alexander said. “Should have them in service a few weeks past that.”

In the meantime, the SJSD will be utilizing 14 air-conditioned buses from another First Student location, which will be ready by the first day of school.

Students and parents can find bus routes and expectations and download the First View app online at https://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/departments/student-services/bus-transportation.