MARCH 7 • 2024 | 23

on the bus, for example. They 
also opened the conversation 
on how to improve commu-
nication.
“It will make a huge dif-
ference,
” Smith says. “I think 
building the awareness, build-
ing communication, helping 
students feel safe — having 
that understanding will 
develop and create a cadence 
of all of that, and help them 
feel safe minimizing unsafe 
behaviors on the bus so that 
travel can be more efficient.
”

Nikki Melville of West 
Bloomfield says she’s glad the 
training is available so drivers 
know better how to approach 
students with special needs. 
Her two sons ride West 
Bloomfield School District’s 
buses, and she is a bus driver 
who sometimes subs for spe-
cial needs routes. 
“Talking to them could 
help them calm down, fidgets 
on the bus or social stories, 
different things we can do to 
help students feel more com-
fortable,
” says Melville, who, 
as a driver with children with 
special needs, drew from her 
own experiences. “Being on a 
bus can be overstimulating.
” 

There’s much more to 
being a bus driver than driv-
ing the bus, she says, from 
interacting with the kids to 
constantly being aware of 
their surroundings and mak-
ing sure kids are comfortable 
and safe. 
“Each student has different 
needs, they have different 
requirements, they respond 
to things differently and the 
training is going to help us 
learn different ways we can 
respond to the child that 
would be in their best inter-
est,
” she says. 
“The main thing I want 
parents to know is that we 
care about their students, and 
their safety is our No. 1 prior-
ity — this training just added 
to that.
” 

