Car Driver

Car Driver

The School Car Driver is responsible for the safe and timely transportation of students, staff, and/or school materials using a district-owned vehicle (such as a car or van). This role supports student attendance, specialized transportation needs, and school operations while ensuring safety and compliance with district, state, and federal guidelines.

Essential Job Functions

• Assists Students: Helps students board and exit the car safely, including those with disabilities (if applicable). Assists with the loading/unloading of any adaptive equipment.
• Attends Training: Participates in required training sessions, safety meetings, and certification renewals.
• Maintains Vehicle Cleanliness: Keeps the vehicle interior clean and orderly; maintains accurate records of mileage, fuel usage, student counts, and incidents.
• Maintains Safety: Follows traffic laws, safety procedures, and district transportation guidelines to provide a safe environment. Confirms at the conclusion of each route/trip that no student is left behind. Ensures that all passengers follow safety protocols, including using seatbelts, car seats, and booster seats as required by Virginia law.
• Maintains Student Conduct: Ensures appropriate student behavior in the car, reports conduct issues to the school administration when necessary.
• Moral & Ethical Integrity: Maintains a high ethical standard in ensuring a respectful environment.
• Operates Bus: Drives the car on assigned routes and schedules, including morning and afternoon pickups, field trips, and activity routes. Adjusts routes as needed for school needs and road conditions.
• Performs Inspections: Conducts daily pre-trip and post-trip inspections; reports on mechanical issues or safety concerns immediately.
• Responds to Emergencies: Handles emergency situations appropriately, including administering basic first aid and executing evacuation procedures when needed.

Core Competencies

• Adaptability & Accountability: Adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands, is open to criticism and feedback, changes approach or method to best fit the situation, and takes responsibility for own actions.
• Attendance & Punctuality: Schedules time off in advance, begins working on time, keeps absences within guidelines, ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent, and arrives at meetings and appointments on time.
• Business Ethics: Works with integrity and ethics, upholds organizational values, and abides by written policies.
• Communication: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English and take direction from supervisors. Expresses ideas and thoughts both verbally and in written form, exhibits good listening skills and comprehension, responds well to questions, and writes clearly and informatively. Edits work for spelling and grammar. Presents accurate numerical data effectively.
• Compliance: Within the specified functional area of authority, is personally accountable for understanding and ensuring regulatory and policy compliance with state and federal requirements in accordance with their respective job duties and responsibilities.
• Confidentiality: Maintains a high degree of confidentiality.
• Culture: Demonstrates and supports a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion through cultivating awareness, continuous development, and modeling inclusive behaviors.
• Customer Service: Provides prompt and high-quality service to team members, vendors, and internal/external customers. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations. Resolves service issues in the assigned project/department in a timely and professional manner.
• Judgment: Displays willingness to make decisions timely, exhibits sound and accurate judgment, supports and explains reasoning for decisions, includes appropriate people in decision-making process, and takes responsibility for communication including what is heard.
• Safety: Attends required safety meetings, follows the Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP)/Safety Plan and reports unsafe conditions, keeps workspace in safe condition.
• Teamwork / Morale: Treats others with professionalism, gives and welcomes feedback, inspires the trust of others, displays a solution-driven mindset, offers assistance and support to co-workers consistent with this role, works cooperatively and collaboratively in group situations. Engages consistently in professional behavior.
• Training: Completes district-required training timely.

Other Duties

• Attend staff and other required meetings and training.
• Provide backup coverage for absent drivers.
• Participate in safety drills as required.
• Assist with training other drivers as needed.

Qualifications, Experience, and Education

• High school diploma or GED (REQUIRED)
• Valid Virginia Driver's License (REQUIRED)
• Valid Virginia Commercial Driver's License (CDL) with School Bus (S) and Passenger (P) endorsements. (PREFERRED)
• Current DOT physical exam conducted and approved by a licensed medical provider. (REQUIRED)
• Ability to pass ongoing drug screening tests. (REQUIRED)
• Consistent, favorable driving record. (REQUIRED)

Computer and Equipment Skills

• Demonstrates proficiency in composing, sending, and managing emails.
• Able to access and complete annual training modules using digital learning platforms.
• Ability to use communication devices, including a cell phone and/or a two-way radio system, for effective communication during route emergencies.

Working Environment and Physical Requirements

Standing - X

Walking - X

Sitting - X

Using hands to touch, handle, or feel - X

Reaching with hands and arms - X

Climbing stairs - X

Bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling - X

Computer use - X

Phone use - X

Talking and hearing - Clear speech and good hearing, both face to face and on the phone; hears well in noisy social environments

Seeing - Clear vision at 20 inches or less with or without corrective lenses; vision sufficient to drive motor vehicles safely with or without corrective lenses

Lifting - Lifts up to 10 pounds routinely, up to 25 pounds occasionally