It has been a busy first day of the school year for Rush-Henrietta bus driver Laurie Broadwell.
A driver for Rush-Henrietta for the past 11 years, Broadwell said she began her career so that she would have summertime off to spend with her daughter.
Her love of kids and the people she works with have kept her around.
The morning started early for Broadwell: Waking up around 4:30 a.m., she left her home in West Bloomfield around 6, arriving at the district’s bus garage around 6:30.
She then completed a pre-run inspection of her bus — including examining everything from the wheels, lights and mirrors to the horns, turn signals and emergency doors. The inspection is required before every series of runs, she said.
Her first trip began around 7 with runs to Fyle Elementary School, Burger Middle School and Pinnacle Lutheran School, ending around 9:30.
Next up was a morning kindergarten run, which is followed every other day by a shuttle run, then in the afternoon with elementary and high school runs. After a late run to the high school, her day concludes around 5.
The routes stay mostly the same every year, Broadwell said, and some kids ride her bus from kindergarten all the way up to eighth grade. It’s always exciting to see the kids after the summer, she said.
“You see a change in them,” she said. “It’s amazing how much two months changes them. ... They grow up. They become little people.”
As expected, there were plenty of photos and videos being taken by proud parents as their kids boarded the bus for the first day.
“The first day always puts you behind with kindergarten,” Broadwell said. “Either (the parents) are crying or the kids are crying or they don’t want to go.”
It has been a busy first day of the school year for Rush-Henrietta bus driver Laurie Broadwell.
A driver for Rush-Henrietta for the past 11 years, Broadwell said she began her career so that she would have summertime off to spend with her daughter.
Her love of kids and the people she works with have kept her around.
The morning started early for Broadwell: Waking up around 4:30 a.m., she left her home in West Bloomfield around 6, arriving at the district’s bus garage around 6:30.
She then completed a pre-run inspection of her bus — including examining everything from the wheels, lights and mirrors to the horns, turn signals and emergency doors. The inspection is required before every series of runs, she said.
Her first trip began around 7 with runs to Fyle Elementary School, Burger Middle School and Pinnacle Lutheran School, ending around 9:30.
Next up was a morning kindergarten run, which is followed every other day by a shuttle run, then in the afternoon with elementary and high school runs. After a late run to the high school, her day concludes around 5.
The routes stay mostly the same every year, Broadwell said, and some kids ride her bus from kindergarten all the way up to eighth grade. It’s always exciting to see the kids after the summer, she said.
“You see a change in them,” she said. “It’s amazing how much two months changes them. ... They grow up. They become little people.”
As expected, there were plenty of photos and videos being taken by proud parents as their kids boarded the bus for the first day.
“The first day always puts you behind with kindergarten,” Broadwell said. “Either (the parents) are crying or the kids are crying or they don’t want to go.”
