24 HOURS: School bus driver with 30 years on the job loves kids because she’s a ‘kid at heart’

Rhonda Crater didn’t just climb aboard the bus and drive off.

Oh, no. The 62-year-old had a lengthy list to go through before she could get behind the wheel.

She had to check the wipers, the lights. The tires, the engine.

“What I’m doing here, I’ll walk you through it. I have to check the oil, make sure we’re good to go,” she said, her head under the hood. “It’s not a clean job, let me tell you.”

But it’s an important one. And Crater takes it seriously.

For more than 30 years, she’s driven Columbia School District students to and from class, to games and matches, on field trips and to special events.

In May, before this last school year ended, she let the Herald accompany her on an early morning ride.

Her route took her all the way to Wallula, and by the end of the morning she’d safely ferried about 30 kids — special education students, from preschool to high school — to class.

Each one got a personal greeting as they boarded the bus. Each got a smooth, calm ride.

Crater has a warmth about her, an undeniable kindness. But she’s also a seasoned pro who keeps order on her bus.

“I’m strict but not strict,” she said, noting that her young charges “know what my rules are.”

They aren’t that many. Namely, sit down, face the front, be respectful of others.

If Crater ever has to discipline a student, she tries not to do it in front of the whole bus. She’ll pull the child aside and straighten things out.

Crater loves her job, she said. When her own children were young — she and her husband, Bob, have two kids, Kellie and Rob — they’d tag along.

“Back then, the kids could ride the bus with me. They never had to go to day care,” she said.

When they got older, she’d drive to their sporting events, never having to miss one.

“What better job for a mother, if you’re in the same school district?” she asked. “I had the summers off. When they had days off, I had days off.”

Kellie and Rob are adults now; Kellie lives in Spokane and Rob in Auburn.

When Crater eventually retires, she plans to spend plenty of time with Kellie’s daughter, Kiya, her first grandchild.

She and Bob also want to fish, to travel. They’ll be busy.

For decades, Crater has lived by the school calendar. The first day of class means excitement, nerves.

“You get the little kindergartner who’s crying. That’s par for the course,” Crater said. “Actually, you get the little kindergartner whose mom is crying, and the kid is wanting to go to school.”

Then there are special holidays, like Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

And the last day? “(That’s) the fun day, isn’t it?” Crater said. “We roll down the windows. We cheer and yell and say goodbye to the teachers, and I’ve got flashers going and horn honking.”

Crater has dealt with bad weather. She’s even managed medical emergencies, such as the time a young charge fell ill on a field trip. Crater drove the student to the hospital.

More often than not, the rides are routine.

The relationships aren’t.

Crater is on her second generation of bus passengers — children she used to drive now have school-age kids of their own.

She’s well-known in the Burbank district. “I could go down to the school, if it was open now, and have 40 to 50 kids say, ‘Hi, Rhonda!’ ” she said.

Somewhere along the line, she switched from Mrs. Crater to Rhonda.

That seems fitting. Crater has that warmth, that kindness. And the way she feels about her young charges — that’s clear.

“I love kids. I really have a heart for kids. I think I’m a kid at heart,” she said.

After a while, Crater’s morning route was done. Columbia-Burbank schools came into view, and she dropped off her young charges.

She sent them off the bus the same way she’d welcomed them on — by name, with a smile.

In a few hours, she’d be back, ready to take them home.

This story was originally published July 24, 2016 at 6:30 PM with the headline "24 HOURS: School bus driver with 30 years on the job loves kids because she’s a ‘kid at heart’."