Over the past 40 years, more than 1,000 students have stepped on the bus driven by Claudette Petsch. She welcomes them on their first day of kindergarten, bids them farewell on their last day of high school, and reassures them when they return to see their own children off on the bus with “Ms. Claudette.”
“I'm a multi-generational bus driver,” Ms. Petsch said.
The beloved bus driver has driven for the same schools during her entire career as a Cobb Schools bus driver: Sedalia Park Elementary School, East Cobb Middle School, and Wheeler High School.
Bus drivers take up driving for many reasons. Ms. Petsch stepped into the driver’s seat to buy a horse for her daughter. A horse may have led to her the big yellow bus, but Cobb students are the ones who kept her in the driver’s seat for four decades.
“I love the kids. I have the best kids ever,” declared the veteran bus driver.
Her students feel the same way about the friendly face that starts their school day.
“My parents love me, and the kids love me, and I love them,” Ms Petsch added.
As a mother of Cobb graduates and grandmother of current Cobb students, she cares for her riders like her own. She listens, and if her students feel like they have a problem, they know they can tell “Ms. Claudette.”
“I think it makes a difference because my parents, my elementary parents, have told me that I'm their hero,” the dedicated bus driver shared.
It makes her happy when she gets notes from parents. She still remembers the thank you note she received from a parent after she cared for a sick child on the bus.
“You can't help but feel great about that. You're doing a good job,” she said.
For some of her students, Ms. Petsch is like family. She even received a special invite to one of her students’ birthdays this year. The sixth grader, who she drove from kindergarten through fifth grade, still wants his bus driver to celebrate with him.
“It would mean the world to him,” his mother told Cobb’s 40-year veteran bus driver.
Ms. Petsch gets up every day at 4:00 in the morning to get ready for her job on the bus, but that hasn’t stopped her yet.
In fact, driving the bus keeps her young.
“I'm not one to sit home and do nothing,” shared the Cobb driver who has safely transported students more than 100,000 miles across the decades.
After her years on the road in the big yellow bus, Ms. Petsch recommends others follow her path. A bus driver’s schedule is especially great for those with children, Ms. Petsch says, because drivers get summers and holiday breaks off, like their children.
Ms. Petsch enjoys her time on the bus even more these days. She now drives one of Cobb’s air-conditioned school buses.
“It makes all the difference in the world,” the veteran driver confirmed. “It makes my job better.” 
Earlier this school year, the Cobb Schools Board of Education recognized Ms. Petsch for her 40 years of service as a bus driver.
“I felt very special because Bryan Snyder, [Cobb Schools Director of Transportation Operations] picked me up. He said he was my chauffeur for the night and took me to the meeting. I did feel special,” recalled Ms. Petsch.
Looking back over her career in the driver’s seat, Ms. Petsch enjoys remembering all the students who stepped on and off her bus. Students who made her job easy even when it meant waking up while others were still sleeping.
“There's so many good memories,” the beloved bus driver said. “I’ve enjoyed my job for the last 40 years.”
For those interested in taking the veteran driver’s advice and joining the Cobb Schools Transportation team, go here.
