May 1^st is a day to celebrate! It’s School Bus Drivers Day. We celebrate the wonderful people that get our kids to school. It’s also School Principals Day. We salute these wonderful leaders in our educational system.

The History of School Bus Drivers Day (from www.daysoftheyear.com)
The earliest school buses date back to the beginning of the 20th century, though horse-drawn carriages whose purpose it was to pick up children, especially from rural areas, were already popular several decades earlier. In 1927, Ford dealership owner A.L. Luce produced a bus body for a 1927 Ford Model T, and today’s school buses, though obviously much more modern and considerably larger, still resemble that his original design.

The shade of yellow known today as “school bus yellow” was adopted as a standard color for North American school buses in 1939. Currently, school buses provide an estimated 10 billion student trips every year. Each school day in 2013, nearly 468,000 school buses transported 28.8 million children to and from school. School buses have played an enormous role in the education of children from poorer families from rural areas all over the world.

Currently, school buses provide an estimated 10 billion student trips every year. Each school day in 2013, nearly 468,000 school buses transported 28.8 million children to and from school. School buses have played an enormous role in the education of children from poorer families from rural areas all over the world. School Bus Drivers Day, created in 2009 by the California State Assembly, is a well-deserved salute in the direction of all of those men and women who dedicate their lives to helping children get to school every day, while staying patient, helpful and positive all throughout.

How to Celebrate School Bus Drivers Day
Like many civil servants, school bus drivers’ praises are not sung very often, with a true tragedy often needing to happen for people to give them and their work any thought at all. This School Bus Drivers Day, make a difference!

Remember: it’s the thought that counts. Grand gestures are not the point of this holiday, so although we’re fairly certain most school bus drivers wouldn’t mind getting the keys to a Ferrari for helping your child get an education, a batch of homemade cookies will do just as nicely. A short few words of appreciation you can say to the school bus driver in the morning or afternoon may well seem like nothing to you but they may be the nicest thing that driver has heard all day. And let’s not forget to teach our children a little bit about appreciating those that do even the seemingly smallest of things for them—a child who knows when to say thank you is sure to grow up to be an infinitely better adult!

“You can have great teachers, but if you don’t have a good principal, you won’t have a good school.”
~ Eli Broad

History of School Principals’ Day  (from www.daysoftheyear.com)
No matter how big or small your school is, you’re going to have a principal. Sometimes you’ll even have more than one, but what exactly do these often mysterious and much-maligned members of the staff actually do? You may be surprised to find out they do far more than terrorize students and administer detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. This was the foundation of what students and parents alike believed them to be, and the Teacher’s Association decided it was time to create a celebration of these hard working heads of school staff, and raise awareness of all that their job entails.

The first thing to understand is that the school is on the principal’s mind, both before the day begins, and long after the school day is over for the students. From the moment they wake till the moment they go to bed the school is on their minds, how to help students be more successful, how to manage students, teachers, and parents expectations.

Throughout their day they meet with the teachers, sharing concerns about students, lesson plans, or goals they’re trying to achieve in their school. Sometimes it’s just to vent, the Principal is everyone’s school counselor. And we do mean everyone! Who do you think your parents see when they’re concerned about your performance, or want to yell about a teacher?

Their work is endless, and they are worthy of honor for the work they do.

How to Celebrate School Principals’ Day
It’s pretty simple really, put together an organized event to show the principal how much you appreciate what they do. You could even keep it simple, just go into their office (not during a class period) and thank them for what they do, and tell them how much you appreciate the efforts they go through to make your school great!