Grand Marais schools celebrate bus drivers during Bus Driver Appreciation Day
Feb 24, 2023 10:42AM ● By Content Editor
Image: District 166 Schools
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - February 24, 2023
This week, students and school staff recognized and gave words of thanks to bus drivers.
The celebration, aptly called "Bus Driver Appreciation Day", has been happening since 2017. On February 23, 2022, Governor Tim Walz declared the day to be Bus Driver Appreciation Day.
In the proclamation, Governor Walz recognized that "Minnesota school bus drivers are critical essential workers who serve an important role in our school system and have a positive influence on students’ educational experience."
It also is a day to raise awareness about driver shortages that are impacting many school districts around Minnesota.
School districts around the state joined in on the celebrations this year by sending words of thanks to their bus drivers, including Cook County School District 166 and Great Expectations School.
The bus drivers were treated to a pizza lunch and treats. Some District 166 students created thank you cards and colored pictures which were given to the bus drivers. Additionally, one of the District 166 PreK teachers put thank-you messages in the classroom window, which faces the bus area.
District 166 Principal Megan Myers told Boreal Community Media that "Our bus drivers are very important, and during the lunch we wanted to recognize their importance and thank them for all of their hard work."
Lesa Hofer, Office Administrator of Great Expectations School, told Boreal Community Media that "the drivers get to know the kids and often go out of their way to assist them, whether that is pulling over to wait for a student after school, or making a special trip back to GES to deliver a pair of mittens left on the bus on a frosty morning."
"School buses can get noisy, and it takes a special skill and mindset to safely deliver riders to and from school each day in this type of environment – especially in treacherous weather. We really appreciate the drivers and the great job they do," she added.
Related: Cook County ISD 166 receives $28,000 grant for school bus stop arm cameras
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - February 24, 2023
This week, students and school staff recognized and gave words of thanks to bus drivers.
The celebration, aptly called "Bus Driver Appreciation Day", has been happening since 2017. On February 23, 2022, Governor Tim Walz declared the day to be Bus Driver Appreciation Day.
In the proclamation, Governor Walz recognized that "Minnesota school bus drivers are critical essential workers who serve an important role in our school system and have a positive influence on students’ educational experience."
It also is a day to raise awareness about driver shortages that are impacting many school districts around Minnesota.
School districts around the state joined in on the celebrations this year by sending words of thanks to their bus drivers, including Cook County School District 166 and Great Expectations School.
The bus drivers were treated to a pizza lunch and treats. Some District 166 students created thank you cards and colored pictures which were given to the bus drivers. Additionally, one of the District 166 PreK teachers put thank-you messages in the classroom window, which faces the bus area.
District 166 Principal Megan Myers told Boreal Community Media that "Our bus drivers are very important, and during the lunch we wanted to recognize their importance and thank them for all of their hard work."
Lesa Hofer, Office Administrator of Great Expectations School, told Boreal Community Media that "the drivers get to know the kids and often go out of their way to assist them, whether that is pulling over to wait for a student after school, or making a special trip back to GES to deliver a pair of mittens left on the bus on a frosty morning."
"School buses can get noisy, and it takes a special skill and mindset to safely deliver riders to and from school each day in this type of environment – especially in treacherous weather. We really appreciate the drivers and the great job they do," she added.
Related: Cook County ISD 166 receives $28,000 grant for school bus stop arm cameras
