Apr. 29, 2016
Ron McArthur, manager, CBE transportation services and Sharon Lanham, school bus driver.
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is pleased to recognize the contributions of school bus drivers. With more than 26,000 students beginning and ending their day on a yellow school bus, these drivers have the important role of ensuring these students arrive at school and at home safely each day.
“After hearing an ad on the radio for bus drivers, I started driving on Dec. 7, 1977. Having all the weekends and holidays off has worked great. I have been so blessed to be doing a job that I truly love,” said Sharon Lanham, school bus driver.
Lanham has seen many changes in Calgary over the years.
“The city has grown and changed so much since I started. You have to be patient. Thankfully, traffic doesn’t rattle me.”
She has spent her entire career driving for the CBE and has driven a variety of routes across the city. For 20 years she has driven a large wheelchair bus and for the last 15 years she has driven a route for students with complex learning needs to Dr. Oakley School.
“Kids are kids and once they know the rules and what is expected behaviour on the bus, we get along just fine,” Lanham says about the students she drives.
As a mother and a grandmother, she knows what the students are interested in and it helps her relate to them.
She says, “I definitely have a grandma image and that makes a difference with the children on the bus.”
Lanham is one of approximately 800 school bus drivers driving to a CBE school. On Monday, May 2 the CBE and school districts across the province will mark School Bus Driver Appreciation Day.
"School bus drivers play an essential role in safely transporting our students to school each day in all types of weather and road conditions. We are thankful for the hard work and dedication that drivers put into their jobs,” said Ron McArthur, manager CBE transportation services.
“We are so pleased to have Sharon drive for our school. She has strong relationships with students, parents and staff,” says Catherine O’Brien-Cusano, principal of Dr. Oakley School.
On School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, the CBE thanks Lanham and all of drivers who work hard to keep our students safe on the road each day.
