Melissa Bailey Photo
When Lianys Costas sang at a CMT rally, her mom — and bus driver — captured her performance on video. Next week, mom will make sure Lianys eats her cornflakes — and gets to school on time for the biggest test of the year.
Ineabelle Costas (second from left in photo) has two roles in her daughter’s education — bus driver and mom. She showed up to a breakfast this week at the Ross/Woodward School to hear a message of thanks and a pitch to help students do better.
The event was put on by the school district and First Student bus company to honor bus drivers — and enlist their help in getting kids ready for the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMTs).
The annual standardized tests for grades 3 to 8 start Monday. The tests are the main way the school district — and state and federal governments — measure the success of New Haven’s elementary schools. Boosting CMT scores is a major part of the city’s unfolding school change campaign, which aims to close the gap between New Haven schools’ CMT scores and the state average by 2015. So CMT fever has hit schools across town this week in anticipation.
The district has tried to enlist everyone in the quest to boost scores — teachers, students, parents … even bus drivers.
Costas filed into the Ross/Woodward “cafetorium” Tuesday morning along with dozens of fellow drivers, most of whom were wearing bright yellow safety vests. They dug into plates of hash browns, sausage and eggs and listened to three musical performances by Ross/Woodward kids.
When the curtain pulled back and revealed the school choir, Costas and two friends scooted to the front of the room. They pulled out their cell phones and cameras and zoomed in her daughter, fifth-grader Lianys (at bottom right in photo), who dressed up in a white blouse for the performance.
“That’s her!” Costas proudly pointed out.
After the musical entertainment, drivers got a message from district officials.
A kid’s education is “not just about what happens at school — it’s about what happens all around them,” including on the school bus, said district school reform czar Garth Harries
Bus drivers are part of the school reform solution — especially next week, when students begin taking their tests, he said.
“We want to make sure everyone knows how important bus drivers are to the education process,” added Teddi Barra, the district’s transportation director. Bus drivers need to show up to work and finish their routes on time, she said. “If kids get to school late, it throws off their whole day.”
CMT testing takes place in the mornings, Barra said.
As a driver and a mom, Costas is keenly aware of her daughter’s schedule.
Each morning, Costas leaves their Fair Haven home, gets her school bus from the yard at Middletown Avenue, and comes back to pick up students from around Fair Haven. She circles through Fairmont Avenue, picks up her daughter on Wolcott Street, then finishes the route in Fair Haven Heights, and drops her daughter off at the Ross/Woodward school.
At the end of the day, she brings her daughter home, gives her a snack, then makes sure she starts her homework by 5 p.m.
With the tests coming up, Costas said she tries to help her daughter stay on task with her math. Mainly, she makes sure she gets enough rest and food. That means going to sleep on time, and not leaving the house until she eats her Cornflakes.
Tuesday, two fellow drivers — Sandra Arroyo and Lianys’s aunt, Reinilda Colón (left to right in photo) — helped record Lianys’ performance with their cell phones.
Arroyo’s kids are grown, but she still has plenty of students to take care of — about 80 per day, she said. Every morning, she takes 25 students to the Clinton Avenue School, 45 to Wilbur Cross High School, and 10 students from Wallingford to the Engineering and Science University Magnet School, which just moved into St. Stanislaus’ Church on State Street.
She said in her eight years driving school buses for First Student, she has learned a few tricks to keeping kids focused and well-behaved on their way to school. Her main rule is to stay seated. There are no other adults on the bus to enforce that rule. When little kids wander around and won’t stay put, she pairs them with an older child, who keeps the little one in line.
Her route from Wallingford involves getting on Interstate I‑91. That means kids have to be well-behaved so she can focus on the road. Before jumping on the highway, she makes sure there’s total order.
If she sees a kid staring out the window, she’ll give a little advice, she said.
“I tell them, ‘Do your homework.’”
Arroyo said she doesn’t know how well the little ones will do on their tests next week, but she does know one thing — their behavior has improved.
“In my eight years, this year they are the best,” she said.
