12 September 2017
A guardian angel at the wheel!
Jean-François Vigneault[1] has been driving school buses for ten years. Over the course of a year, young people of all ages board his bus, from pre-kindergarten to high school. He says, “I accompany them throughout their school careers, so we have an excellent relationship.”
“I greet each one of them every morning, even those who never respond: it’s important to me that there is some interaction, that they receive a warm welcome.” Parents have told him they feel their children are safe on his bus and that he is a sort of guardian angel.
He admits that it wasn’t easy when he started: “I filed at least 45 disciplinary notices my first year on the job. Most of them dealt with students constantly standing up when the bus was in motion, changing seats when it was not the right time, or jostling other students. You could say they were testing the limits.”
Bus drivers in his school board are employees of the board, which facilitates the resolution of problems. “We have a direct relationship with the principals, which creates an effective rapport when there is a problem with a student.” He says he filed only one disciplinary notice last year.
“I take care of the students as if they were my own children. Their safety is important to me!”
Martin Cayouette
Communications Advisor
[1] Jean-François Vigneault is a member of the Eastern Shores Union Support Staff and works at the Eastern Shores School Board.