Kudos Corner


If you would like to share some of the great things that our Transportation staff are doing for you, please contact Linda.Farbry@fcps.edu or at 8101 Lorton Road, Lorton, Virginia 22079.

Bus #844 has provided excellent customer service! Janet L. Hyman reported the following experience:

I wanted to take a moment to write in praise of the quick thinking and acting driver I witnessed yesterday afternoon.

I was driving down Lawyers Road in Reston, Virginia, shortly before 3:00 p.m. on May 1, 2007. I had been following bus 844 as it dropped off children from Langston Hughes Middle School at stops on the south side of Lawyers Road.

I moved into the left lane to pass the bus as we approached St. John Neuman Church. Suddenly the bus driver started blaring on the horn, and trying to pull over into the left lane. I stopped and the bus pulled over in front of me, as if it was going to make a left turn onto Blue Spruce. Then I looked and saw a young toddler, wandering alone from Blue Spruce Road out into Lawyers Road. The bus driver and I both blew our horns continually and all traffic came to a stop on Lawyers. By then, an adult from a yard on the corner of Blue Spruce & Mountain Laurel (one very short block from Lawyers) noticed and came to retrieve their toddler.

At that location, Lawyers Road is a curving four lane road with a 45 m.p.h. speed limit. I believe that the incredibly quick response of the bus driver saved that toddler's life yesterday.

Janet L. Hyman

Transportation has provided excellent customer service! Denise Reid from the SACC Program reported the following experience:

The Transportation office has been very supportive of the SACC Program this summer. We have had to make several destination changes and all the area offices have been cooperative and helpful. The bus drivers have been very cooperative as well. I appreciate everyone's flexibility and patience when we found it necessary to make changes. It is clear that our dedication to the safety and well being of the children in the Summer SACC Program is shared by your offices and your drivers. I'm looking forward to working with Transportation again next summer. Have a great school year! (08/29/06)

Barbara Walthall, Charlie Rinker, Marion Bell, Helen Gilley, Aubrey Ravennelle, and Lucy Wenberg in Transportation, have provided excellent customer service! Michael Marsallo from Kilmer Center reported the following experience:

Once again, I am writing to alert you to some good news about some of your staff members. I refer to Barbara Walthall, Charlie Rinker, Marion Bell, Helen Gilley, Aubrey Ravennelle, and Lucy Wenberg.

This morning we had an incident with a student as the bus was unloading. The student stopped breathing and it took a few minutes for the nurse that travels with the student and our school nurse to revive him, administering CPR and rescue breathing. The driver and attendant, Marion & Helen, called the nurse back onto the bus when they noticed the student was not breathing well. As the nurses worked on the student on the sidewalk outside of the school, Barbara & Charlie directed traffic and while all of this was going on and managed to get all of the other students unloaded safely. The student was transported to the hospital and is now home doing fine.

On two occasions recently, Aubrey and Lucy noticed that a student about to be loaded on their bus did not have her oxygen on her wheelchair and during the second incident, noticed that the student’s oxygen tubing was not connected. In both situations, they refused to load the student and alerted someone to the situation so that it could be resolved. It is essential that the student have her oxygen, as, even with it today, she had an extended seizure at school, and was transported to the hospital. Thankfully, she too is doing well.

I bring these two situations to your attention to commend these wonderful employees for their dedication to their jobs, but more importantly, to our students. (05/16/06)

Michael Lucas in Transportation-Bus Drive, has provided excellent customer service! Jennifer Gant from Little Run Elementary School reported the following experience:

My name is Jennifer Gant and I am a 6th grade teacher at Little Run Elementary. Yesterday afternoon I am driving towards 66 on 7100. I somehow got a flat tire. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a huge deal, except I am 5 months pregnant. After 30 minutes of doing my best on my own to get this tire off, a FCPS School Bus Driver, Michael Lucas stopped to help me. He saw that I was pregnant and attempting this alone. He didn't’ have to stop; he could have continued on his way to finish his day as every other driver on the road had done. However, he did not. I simply wanted the people he works for to know that he went above and beyond…and saved me from having to change the tire completely myself being this pregnant. (02/16/06)

Carole Kamps in Transportation Services has provided excellent customer service! Rod Tompkins from Saratoga Elementary School reported the following experience:

Kudos to the fine folks in the FCPS Transportation Department. I called the Transportation Office this morning with a concern about a particular radio station being played on my daughter's bus (currently and this past summer during IFTA). Someone in the office directed me to Carole Kamps, and also gave me the list of whom to call next if I was not satisfied at any stage. Well, one call to Carole was all it took. Within a few hours, everyone back up to Linda Farbry was in the loop and the issue was resolved to my satisfaction. I couldn't have hoped for my concerns to be addressed more quickly and positively. Great people make FCPS great! Thank you. (01/11/06)