By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 31, 2020 | School may have been out in Gwinnett County for the last two weeks, but school buses were still running….this time on 498 routes delivering meals to students, not delivering students to school. While there will be no meals delivered this week during the system’s Spring Break, meal delivery will start again on Monday, April 6.
Through Friday some 1,600 school bus drivers and helpers and lunchroom workers had delivered 293,950 meals, an average of 29,000 meals a day to students in the 68 Title One schools in Gwinnett, basically from the Duluth-Dacula area south to the county line. The first day, only 14,446 meals were delivered, but by the end of the second week the total had been doubled to 29,583 meal deliveries. In addition, meals being picked up by parents at schools doubled from 3,776 to 6,216.
Don Moore, executive director of transportation for the Gwinnett Public Schools, reports a relatively smooth two weeks of bringing the food directly to the students.
“We brought our staff in on Monday for training before we started delivering the meals. It was all new to us, and we wanted to make sure everything went off safely. We had the drivers running their regular middle school routes. That way all stops are known by the driver, and the kids. On each bus the team consisted of two other people to help hand out the meals. We had to shuttle drivers and supervisors from other areas to pair up with the drivers of the middle school routes.”
He adds: “The most dangerous time is when the stopped bus starts to pull away. Children have come out running to the bus, and do not always follow the rules, so it’s important for the driver to focus on the kids outside of the bus, and the other two of the team on the bus to hand out the meals. The last thing we want is to have someone hurt.”
Through the School Board’s website, social media and word-of-mouth, the students were told to meet the buses at their regular locations. “Then the neighbors started talking and the word got out.
The school transportation leadership team consists of Roger Clark, Don Moore, Samantha Thorpe and Ken Volkmer.
“We typically start about 9:45 a.m., then load the lunches and leave the schools about 10:30 for the first stop about 11 a.m. We typically finish in about an hour.” Then the buses return to the lunchrooms, and unload any left-over meals.
Lunchroom personnel are working in two shifts, one shift preparing the meals, while the second shift helps load the buses and work handing out meals to parents, who can drive to the schools between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to pick up meals.
Moore says that the workers on the buses have been “overwhelmed at what a great service this is being for the kids. They and their parents really appreciate the mission. At the same time, those delivering meals are on the job, getting paid, and helping the kids that they see all the time. We’re getting recognition from the parents, with the adults applauding the buses as they drive through an area. We’re also getting letters and cards. It has been a gratifying experience.”
Meanwhile, dispatchers are on the radios to bus drivers, reminding them to be careful, and to remember that they are not following normal procedures. They remind the drivers that they must look out for the children at the stops, who are not in ordinary situations.
Virus Victim: The Coronavirus claimed another victim — we hope a temporary toll — as the Gwinnett Daily Post announced it was suspending its Friday edition. The newspaper will now distribute on Sunday and Wednesday, while maintaining its online edition daily.
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