Minnesota Celebrates School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

February 28, 2023

South Education Center staff Liz Rockler and an unidentified aide who works for Lake Country Bus help transport students from the Hopkins School District in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.

On Feb. 22, the state of Minnesota celebrated their annual school bus driver appreciation day for the seventh year in a row to honor their bus drivers.

The president of the Minnesota School Bus Operators Association (MSBOA) Bethany Betram described this holiday as “a large-scale day of appreciation with many events led by school districts and bus organizations throughout Minnesota.”

School bus drivers in the state safely transport over 682,000 students daily. This day is used to honor the school bus drivers that transport these students regardless of staff shortages and the current severe cold weather.

Due to the current weather conditions in the state, many Minneapolis Metro districts and other districts across the state decided to push back their celebrations due to school closures. Amid the snowstorm, many districts were forced to rely on e-learning for classes and suspend their Bus Driver Appreciation Day events. One of those districts was Intermediate District 287 in Plymouth, Minnesota, which received 18-20 inches of snow in two days with high winds causing drifts. Amy Tiedens, the district’s transportation manager, a celebration was held Tuesday by handing out treats and thank you notes from the students to the bus and van drivers.

On the other hand, Benjamin Bus Inc., located in Dakota County, generally, puts together gift bags for each driver and food treats. Many elementary schools such as Spring Creek and Greenvale gave colored pictures by students to drivers or handed out snacks and drinks, relayed Val Mertesdorf, the transportation liaison for Northfield Public Schools #659.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Association for Pupil Transportation (MAPT) created a list of ways to celebrate and show appreciation for their drivers. Some of these are taking photos on School Bus Driver Appreciation Day and sharing them on social media, encouraging local students to create thank you cards, large signs, artwork, or other displays for their bus drivers. Also, providing food and beverages for bus drivers.

Furthermore, MSBOA and MAPT, which first teamed up in 2017 to create School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, came together again this year and created an event that sparked public appreciation for school bus drivers, prompted people to consider them as valuable and view driving buses as a desirable career path.