Eastern Iowa school bus aides offer extra hands, eyes

CEDAR RAPIDS - The bus stops at Prairie Creek Elementary School. Driver Tammy Bell steps out to operate the wheelchair lift while Al Hale stays inside to help twins Nick and Gwen Johnson board the bus.

“Hi,” Hale says as he helps Gwen, 10, with her walker. “Did you have a good day?”

Gwen and her brother have cerebral palsy. Hale helps them get settled in their seats, plumping the pillow his wife made to give Gwen additional support, as other students climb aboard Lift Bus No. 1.

After everyone is seated, Bell takes her seat behind the wheel. Hale also sits, ready to help any of the students.

Hale is one of the aides who serve on school buses throughout the state to help students with special needs and monitor unruly routes.

Safety is the key benefit. officials say.

“It helps keep the kids safe, especially with the special needs and preschool/Head Start routes,” said Max Christensen, executive officer of school transportation for the Iowa Department of Education. “Those children typically need a little bit of extra care and nurturing while on the school bus, and the monitors play a huge role in that area,”

Christensen said safety is heightened on regular routes, too, because aides help to guard against bullying and teasing.

“It's just hard for a driver, on a regular bus, for a driver to see and hear everything that's going on,” said Brian Cruise, transportation manager for the Linn-Mar school district.

“We do have a few regular education bus associates due to large populations and behavior concerns,” said Fred Grems, general manager of Durham School Services, which provides school bus transportation for the Iowa City school district. “It's easier for the bus driver to concentrate if someone else is watching the kids.”

Most bus aides, though, are specifically hired to help a district's special education population.

“All of our specialized transportation have bus aides,” said Scott Grabe, College Community's director of transportation. “They are there to help the driver.”

Denny Schreckengast, transportation manager for the Cedar Rapids school district, said his department works with special services to meet the needs of those students. The district's bus attendants serve students with seizures, learning disabilities, behavior disabilities - any affliction or disorder requiring attention.

“It's a comfort level parents request when they fill out their child's IEP (Individualized Education Program),” Schreckengast said.

While school transportation managers support the idea of adding bus attendants to all bus routes, there isn't enough funding in school budgets to outfit each bus with an associate.

“I need more,” Schreckengast said. “What drives most of that need is a special education piece. Legally, we would not be able to cut those positions.”

All bus aides go through the same screening process as all school personnel, including criminal and background checks. The salary scale averages about $10 to $13 per hour for bus aides.

Hale has worked as a bus aide for College Community since December 2008. Hale's wife, Kay, is a bus driver with the school district, too, although the couple doesn't work together.

Some of the kids on Hale's route have physical needs while other students have behavioral disorders. There are some mornings a student's medication hasn't kicked in when they board the bus and Hale has to make sure the student doesn't hurt himself, or others, while on the bus.

“The morning ride is kind of the transition period,” Hale said. “They're fine by the time we get to school.”

Bell said Hale's presence makes her job safer.

“I don't have to worry about the kids, I can just focus on my driving,” she said.