Karen Romo has been driving a school bus for Tehachapi Unified School District for 10 years. She said that she likes her job and enjoys interacting with the kids, and makes it a personal goal to learn their names and provide a positive first encounter as they begin their day.

When the school district handed out employee assignments last month as part of the Character Counts program, a nationwide educational program aimed at instilling values that will support good choices, Romo chose to prepare a project related to citizenship.

“When I looked up the word ‘citizenship’ it talked about an individual’s rights and responsibilities to the community. My responsibility is to hold up my end of the bargain — that’s driving the bus and keeping the kids safe and doing the best I can do. That’s where our pledge comes in.”

Romo decided to demonstrate her commitment to promote good citizenship within the district by getting her fellow bus drivers to sign a pledge to the community:

“I intend to start each day with a positive attitude.
I intend to model good behavior.
I intend to follow all the laws of the road.
I intend to be a courteous and considerate driver.
I intend to maintain a safe and enjoyable ride to everyone who enters the school bus.”

Romo said the drivers were very excited about the pledge, as well as the support of the District Superintendent Marian Stephens, who also signed the pledge.

Describing her motivation, Romo said that bus drivers aren’t always looked upon favorably, so she felt it was a good idea to offer something to the public to show their dedication to doing what can sometimes be a stressful job.

“When people personalize it there is a better understanding. It’s easy to dislike people or things when you don’t know or understand them.”

The above is an excerpt from an article by Carin Enovijas of the Tehachapi News. Read the full article here.