Every year, the St. Vrain Valley School District’s transportation team drives enough miles to circle the Earth 90 times.
Transporting 5,723 children a day, whether that’s from home to school and back or across the state for an athletic competition, it’s not hard to see how those daily drives can add up to 2.2 million miles. But when Lisa Atilano thinks about her job, it’s about the day to day.
A long time bus driver for public transit, she started at St. Vrain four years ago when she decided she could make more of an impact driving school buses — and she feels like she has.
This year, Atilano has added a preschooler to her route whose family only speaks Spanish. Atilano is bilingual, so she talks with the preschooler’s mom every day. When Atilano asked the mother one day how her son did at a special event, Atilano accidentally called the preschooler “mijo,” which means “my son” in Spanish.
Atilano immediately apologized, but the mother said that it was alright because she knew the bus driver treated him like her own son. Atilano recalled the mother saying, “I know he’s mijo to you.”
Director of Transportation Lance Yoxsimer explained that building these relationships in the community is a big part of what the St. Vrain transportation department is all about.
“We really take ownership in the work that we do,” he said. “It’s just a neat opportunity to be part of something that’s so, so much bigger than just one bus ride.”
Troy Biddison often sees that as he transports students to and from athletic events. Last year, he celebrated with the Mead boys basketball team after they won the state championship.
Just last week, he took three other basketball teams to their playoff games, and for each one his bus was escorted by the police and fire departments for a special sendoff through town.
“(It) keeps me young, their enthusiasm for everything,” he said. “It’s great. I’m lucky I get to do what I do.”
Biddison started driving for St. Vrain four years ago looking for a change of pace. Doing a lot of the athletic and field trip driving for the district, he has found just that as he takes students as far as Colorado Springs, Vail and Grand Junction.
“Anytime they’re getting on or off the bus, I’m always trying to greet them or say something positive to them,” Biddison said. “I think that makes a big difference because they may not get that at their homes.”
Giving back to the community is a big priority for many in the transportation department. At a recent school board meeting, members of the transportation team were recognized for their work helping to evacuate an assisted living facility during the Marshall fire.
Yoxsimer said while the transportation department has been also dealing with the same staffing shortages that just about every industry is facing across the state, that a culture focused on making a difference has helped to recruit and retain a lot of quality drivers and support staff. The transportation department has about 130 buses and 157 employees, which includes drivers, mechanics and paraprofessionals.
Bus drivers not only help get students to and from school and athletic events, but also shuttle students to classes at different schools throughout the day and transport kids to a variety of programs throughout the year. Some drivers stay after the main shifts to do a “second run” picking up students who stay after school for tutoring programs.
Most importantly, the transportation department focuses on the wellbeing of students. To them, the biggest accomplishment is getting students where they need to be on time safely and hopefully with a smile on their faces.
“It’s the cumulative impact,” Yoxsimer said. “Every day (there are) thousands of kids getting on and off the bus safely, successfully accessing their learning, going to their athletics. To us, in the big scheme of things, that’s our success.”
Atilano is reminded that she has found her calling when that preschooler gives her the craft he worked on in school that day or a hug goodbye. She works to build that kind of trust with every kid that gets on her bus.
“To me that’s very special,” she said. “It means I’m doing something right.”
