General Layout – High School Route

The last part of my route to describe is actually my first run each day and afternoon, the high school route.

At 6:0am each morning, except Wednesdays which is late opening and an hour later, I pre-trip my bus and head out to pick up sleepy high school folks. My first pick-up time is 6:53am, but because I’m such a nice guy, I show up at the stop at 6:43ish, since students start showing up at that time and would often have to stand out in the cold or rain waiting for the bus. It also gives me a chance to talk to the early arrivals.

So I sit at the first stop for ten minutes. Most mornings, as I’m headed to the second and last stop, I pick up a couple of stragglers. I’m not sure I’m supposed to do this and I need to thinking of a creative consequence for students who think they’re special and can show up late. I thought about squirting them with the squirt gun (or bottle, no guns on the bus), but one of my “go to” students tells me this would not go over well in the morning. I tend to agree with him. I could get hurt. I pick up about 25 students at the first stop.

At the second stop, about three blocks away, students are congregated and waiting for me. They don’t get the benefit of getting immediately on the bus the way people at the first stop do.

About a week ago I instituted my first “Route 22 Unique Policy.” At this second stop, everyone wants to get on the bus ASAP, which means that the aggressive guys would get on first.

I decided that I would employ a “ladies on first” policy. The guys weren’t happy with this. One student told me I must be smoking crack if I thought they would actually go along with it.

Well, I have control of the doors, so I simply wouldn’t open the doors until the guys let the gals to the front of the line. It also helped that a couple of the guys view themselves as being pretty classy and ladies’ men, and quickly complied. Now the guys stand aside like the Red Sea parting for the Children of Israel…it’s a miracle.

I deliver these folks at Newberg HS at 7:09ish. Mornings with high school people are pretty mellow. Afternoons are a different story. I'll describe that in my next posting.