Well it is about time for winter to show up in central New York and we are prepared. Our buildings and grounds crews have plow blades installed, salt is on stand-by, and plenty of elbow grease is ready for plain old snow blowing and shoveling.
Our bus drivers are excellent at what they do, no matter the conditions. The winter weather does give them a chance to shine and show why I have never hesitated to put my own kids in their care when we decide that conditions are favorable enough to have school. For those Kindergarten parents out there who are sending their first child on a bus for the first winter season, have no fear.
Our buses are all inspected at a much higher level than any personal vehicle, they are extremely heavy, and they are driven by trained professionals. We have approximately 88 buses that drive about a million miles per year. If we decide that school should be open, you should not hesitate to place your children on a school bus. My children have been riding since THEY were in Kindergarten and my oldest graduates next year.
The people who really need to use extra caution are us as parents, staff, community members, and student drivers. While we have been trained in many cases (some of us even took Driver's Education!), we just do not have the same weight as a school bus underneath us nor in many cases do we have perfect tires and brakes as our buses do. WE need to take a few extra minutes on poor weather days to get us to our destinations.
This is also a great time to remind our kids (mine too!) that waiting at the bus stop in shorts and a T-shirt is not as cool as it might look. As conditions can change at a moments notice this time of the year, buses can be a little earlier or later than when conditions are perfect. Long pants, a coat, gloves, boots, and even a hat (yes, I said it!) may not be the same fashion statement as wrinkled up shorts and a Syracuse T-shirt are, but you will make it to school with the ability to feel your fingers and toes.
I hope that all of you had a great holiday. There was a lot to celebrate for the first half of the year and this second half is beginning to shape up really well.
I am excited to see how our first redistricting meeting goes this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Stonehedge Library. Also, if you haven't had a chance to see our Lady Wildcat Basketball team yet, now is a great time to do so; they are ranked first in our conference!
Have a great week-
Chris
This page provides thoughts and commentary from the Superintendent of Schools for the West Genesee Central School District. From time to time, columns from this page will appear in the District printed publication, The Communicator, distributed at no charge to households in the district. (To subscribe to this link as a RSS feed, please click on the link "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" located at the bottom of the postings.)
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About Me
- Christopher R. Brown
- Probably not the most traditional superintendent of all time but I have a true love for children and watching them grow and mature. I enjoy speaking to them when they return home from college, job, or service and talking about the "good old days". Definitely keeps me young.
