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Transportation Union President Jeanette Ousey is proud to represent the 100 bus drivers who transport Colonial’s students to schools, but she says the drivers and aides do much, much, more.  Ousey, who started out as an aide in 2004 and began driving in 2019, wants families to know that drivers intentionally try to start the day off right for their young passengers.

“When you see a child walk out of the house, you know if they’ve had a good morning or a bad morning by looking at their faces, and you can turn that around when they get on the bus.”

Ousey says drivers and aides see many children who come from less than desirable homes so they do their best to help with the reward being a smile or a hug from them.

“As a former aide, I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve helped with their homework or quizzes.

A lot of people don’t know where these children come from or what they go through in their struggles.  We see that, we know that,” Ousey says.

Ousey hopes families realize drivers go out of their way for students, often spending time in their lunchroom making up goody bags with treats to distribute on the buses. When they learned seniors would not have a traditional graduation, the drivers and aides worked together to produce a video complete with a drone shot of the buses decorated and lined up to form 2020.

“We just wanted to be able to show the kids that we were proud of them since they couldn’t walk. We wanted them to know we cared.”

Ousey praises her union members and the entire district for the work done to assist students through the pandemic.

“That’s the Power of WE, it’s teamwork, pulling together to do what you’ve got to do to get the job done!”