Damon Collier

Kenny Richards-EDL 647

Diversity Issues& School Administration
Final Assignment- Disenfranchised sub-group
Intro
A school culture can be made up of many sub-groups. These sub-groups
include students, staff, parents, substitutes, student-teachers, monitors, and bus
drivers. Being a part of a sub-group can make the group feel disenfranchised or
essentially not feeling like they belong or are a full part of the organization. The bus
drivers at Glen Paul School fit this definition of a disenfranchised group. After
conducting an interview with the lead bus driver, I hope to come up with some
solutions that will address the communication barrier between the school culture
that feels they fit in with the bus drivers who dont.
School
Glen Paul School is a school that serves students with moderate to severe
disabilities. The students range in age from 3 to 22. We serve students from all
over the county. We have 7 classrooms on the Glen Paul site and an additional 9
classroom that are spread out all across the county serving different regions. Since
we are spread out and have students attending school all across the county, busing
them can be a real challenge. It takes great organization from the lead bus driver
whose main responsibility is to create the bus routes with the intention to pick up all
students and get them to school on time. The bus driver has to rely on school
personnel such as the teachers and staff to inform her of any students who might
be late or not attending on any given day. It is only with communication and team
work between bus drivers and school staff that we can meet the transportation
needs for the moderate/severe students all across the county.

Current History
The transportation department is composed of a director, lead bus driver, and
eight bus drivers. Their bus lot/yard, until two years ago, used to be down at the
Humboldt County Office of Education in Eureka. When the new sequoia center
started to be developed, the transportation department, including the buses,
needed to be relocated. That is when the bus yard at Glen Paul School was
developed. This proximity changed already began the process of dealing with the
transportation department feeling like a sub-group that was always out of the loop.
Putting the bus yard onto our campus alone began the process of making them feel
a part of the culture. The bus drivers were able to have instant access to our
student run coffee bar as well as having direct contact with staff around campus.
The bus drivers having direct contact to school personnel helped develop personal
relationships between themselves and school staff. This also diffused some of the
isolated feelings. However, just moving locations was not enough.
Procedures/Methods
I had the privilege to interview the lead bus driver. I actually sent her a copy
of my assignment and she was more than willing to meet and discuss the alienation
issues. When we first met, she actually told me during a bus driver meeting she
handed out my assignment and everyone was able to provide input to her that she
took notes of. She prepared the notes to share with me. This was great considering
I could have been met with opposition from a sub-group who doesnt feel
comfortable talking to me about how they fee.
Interview Results
We started the interview off by me asking questions on how they feel when it
comes to being included with the school as a whole. The first response I got from

the lead bus driver was We have a sense of alienation. She continued by stating
Things have improved since we moved from HCOE to Glen Paul, however we still
sense that it is our only job to strictly drive and not be included in any other part of
the school day. Bus drivers assume that teachers/school staff believes it is not
hard to drive a bus, alone, with 15 severely handicapped students on it. They also
feel that there is this assumption that teachers and staff at the school believe the
bus drivers are less educated. She also stated Teachers and school staff say all
you have to do is drive a bus. These assumptions make the bus drivers feel under
appreciated.
Next the lead bus driver wanted to explain to me some of the reasons they
feel they might be alienated as well as provide me with some insight that they feel
school staff doesnt understand or is not aware of. First she stated that The bus
drivers personal lives are under constant scrutiny. Their personal driving record
has to stay perfect, medical issues can jeopardize our jobs, the stress of driving
other parents kids around is huge, and they are not given any lead way with making
mistakes such any driving/criminal violation or participating in recreational activities
during their own time. I was also informed that the bus drivers have a very
different work schedule. This can make it hard for them to participate in school
based activities. They arrive before school staff arrives, they pick up students, drop
them off at school, then they have a few hour break to take care of some personal
business. By the time they get back to their buses, it is time to take the kids home.
When they are done with the routes, most school staff has already left for the day.
This is just the way it is and there really isnt anything that can change their
schedule. If the bus drivers want to stick around during the school day on their own

time they are more than welcome but not to many do since there isnt any
incentive.
The next part of the interview went into specific details of what happens
between school personnel and bus drivers. The main barrier that bus drivers have
with not feeling included is the communication from classroom staff putting
students on the bus and the bus drivers themselves. The lead bus driver stated
Communication is a real issue. Aides will shove kids on the bus that are pissed off
and expect us to deal with an upset student on our own. It seems like teachers
and aides not communicating with the bus drivers about students daily behavior is
an issue. If a student was agitated before getting on the bus, it would be nice for
the teachers/aides to communicate with the bus drivers that they had a hard day or
the student didnt earn a certain reward etc. Having classroom staff work with the
bus drivers in a team like manner, demonstrating good communication skills instead
of throwing disgruntled students on the bus, without an explanation, can really
make the bus drivers feel appreciated and part of the team.
The last issue the lead bus driver wanted to discuss with me had to deal with
students medical conditions. For example, they want to be more in the loop with
students who might have been exposed to some type of communicable disease.
Also, students who have seizures tend to show signs such as being tired/lethargic or
signs of sensory overload. If these behavioral signs appeared during the day, maybe
the teacher could communicate with the transportation department and make a call
to the parent to pick up their child instead of the bus taking them home. Bus
drivers have stated After enough time around a student pre-cursor signs could
have been noticed during the school day that could indicate a possible seizure. If
these sings were detected, then a parent picking up their child could have

prevented a seizure on the bus. When a seizure happens on the bus, the bus driver
has to call 911.
Possible Solutions
Lastly, we discussed some possible solutions that can make the bud
drivers feel less alienated. The first and easy solution is to include them on our
email list that included our daily bulletin. This bulletin highlights daily and
upcoming events so everyone can be aware of what is happening on campus. I also
informed her that the transportation department is welcome to include information
in or daily bulletin that they might feel the school should know. The second solution
we discussed is to set up a schedule where the lead bus driver and I can meet and
discuss any present issue. These meetings are to check in with each other, from
time to time, allowing us to put issues on the table and to solve in a
productive/positive manner. Third, I personally will work with my staff on how
important it is to assist the bus drivers with putting students on the bus. I will also
instruct them the importance of keeping bus drivers in the communication loop
students daily behaviors. I will start my instruction with staff on a case by case
scenario, but over time I would like to address the communication barrier at a
teacher meeting, including the lead bus driver, so that we can all have a discussion
together. For most of the medical concerns, I am going to make it my priority to
inform the transportation department when I hear of possible communicable
diseases or sicknesses that everyone needs to be in the loop with. I am currently
not sure if it is realistic for me to address the seizure problem. Our students
demonstrate behaviors that are unusual all the time and I cant foresee us being
able to label a behavior to a potential seizure accurately since we are not doctors.
Conclusion

In conclusion, sub-groups who feel disenfranchised deserve the opportunity

to address their alienation issues and have the opportunity to feel more included.
After conduction the interview with the lead bus driver, I feel we have really opened
the door to resolving this issue. Being able to conduct an interview and hear
firsthand why a sub-group feels alienated was really enlightening. It opened the
door to a communication street that was previously blocked. After the issues were
identified, being able to come up with solutions really left both sides feeling good
about what happened. It is really important to gather information such as history,
how the sub-group feels and to create solutions so that problems can be properly
identified and solved. Everyone that participates in the school culture deserves to
be included, and it is a responsibility of school leadership to identify these subgroups as well as build procedures to make everyone feel included.