School bus service has returned to the remote Yukon community of Pelly Crossing. This significant achievement is a result of a friendship between a teacher in the community and a dispatcher with Standard Bus Contracting in Whitehorse.
Pelly Crossing is a small community of about 320 people three hours north of Whitehorse. The community has struggled to attract and retain a permanent driver for Eliza Van Bibber school for a few years, leaving the student without consistent busing.
Standard Bus Dispatcher Kim Solonick searched desperately for ideas to attract drivers. Eventually, an idea hit her, and she made a call that changed everything. She contacted her friend Yvonne Curic, a teacher at the school.
Yvonne and Kim have been friends for years. In addition to her work at Standard, Kim is an Airbnb host in Whitehorse. Yvonne, a frequent guest, stays with Kim when she visits friends in the city. So, she wasn’t surprised to receive a call from Kim one summer day, but she was a bit taken aback by Kim’s question.
“Would you consider driving a school bus for us?” she asked her friend.
Yvonne thought back to the challenges posed by a lack of drivers. “Students would miss out on field trips,” she says. Some students would have no way of getting to school. “This also affected [overall] attendance.”
Immediately, Yvonne saw the possibilities the request offered.
“There weren’t any other applicants,” says Yvonne. “I didn’t want my students to miss out on another year of no rides to school and no trips, so I told Kim I would do it.”
As she completed her training, Yvonne also convinced fellow teacher David Gillis to apply. Both completed training and licensing and today, Yvonne is the school’s permanent driver while David acts as the spare. “It always feels great to help out. I only had my student’s interests in mind when I decided,” says Yvonne.
Having teachers double as school bus drivers has made a big difference at the school, says Principal Mary Shkimba.
“The community is very grateful to have the bus back in the community, and I applaud the initiative of our two teachers who obtained their licenses to aid the school community and the students.”
Overall, Yvonne is happy with her decision to drive for Standard Bus and support her students.
“I think it’s a great idea to have teachers with their Class 2 and Class 4 in rural communities to help drive the kids around. I would encourage teachers across the Territory to look into doing the same for their communities!”
Yvonne Curic with teacher and Standard Bus school bus driver David Gillis.
