From bus rider to CCPS employee: A student’s journey
- Shanda Crosby
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
Every morning, high school student Madi Barnes boarded Alison Esler's bus #8 on Irvine Road where she was welcomed warmly and treated like family.
As the mornings and afternoons passed, Ms. Alison and Madi grew closer, bonding over Madi’s numerous questions about the bus and what it takes to be a bus monitor.
Madi quickly noticed that Ms. Alison didn’t just transport students; she watched over them. She saw when a normally talkative student went silent, when a pair of shoes were falling apart, when someone hadn’t boarded in a few days.
It was the same for Madi. If she got on the bus tired, Ms. Alison could tell. If Madi seemed a bit stressed, Ms. Alison knew.
That kind of care made an impression on Madi and made her start to think – this is something I would enjoy doing. She began helping the younger students and building relationships with her fellow riders.
Ms. Alison noticed that, too.
“One day, Madi stayed with me for the entire route and that’s when we started really connecting,” recalls Ms. Alison. “She started asking constant questions about what the different buttons and switches do. I thought it was cute, but after she stayed with it day after day, I realized what a great bus monitor she would be.”
Ms. Alison approached Transportation Director Daren Snell and by Madi’s senior year, she was an employee of Clark County Public Schools on co-op while finishing high school.
When Madi finished her classes at GRC in late morning, Ms. Alison rolled into GRC on Bus 8 and picked her up for their route.
By the time Madi graduated in May, her future was clearer than most. While many classmates scattered across jobs and colleges, Madi stayed – taking a full-time role in the Transportation Department. Not because she didn’t have other options, but because she’d found something she loves – a purpose, a place, and a family.
Though she will no longer be riding Ms. Alison’s bus, the two are friends for life.
“Alison is my work mom,” Madi says. “I have a whole work family that I've become a part of this whole school year and it’s been great.”
To Madi, being a bus monitor is more than keeping students seated and safe. It’s about getting to know them and supporting them when needed.
“I love the connections with the kids,” she says. “I was invited to one of my kids’ kindergarten graduations, so I went to a kindergarten graduation and graduated from GRC all in the same week. It meant so much to me.”
Madi even rode to prom with some of her friends on Bus 8 and included a picture of herself sitting at the bus emergency exit on her graduation invitations.
“Ms. Alison and Madi had a great year, and what makes it even better is that this arrangement was initiated by the driver,” said Snell. “Alison approached me with the idea and I thought – there’s no reason for us not to co-op our own kids if we have the right one. When Madi interviewed, she was well beyond her years in maturity. It went very well, and we plan to continue hiring bus monitors through the co-op program.”
Madi’s long-term goal is to be an MSD teacher and for now she is getting valuable training toward that. “I’m sure driving a bus is somewhere in my future after retirement,” she said.
Madi graduated from GRC not only with a fulltime job lined up, but a huge amount of respect for the quiet heroes of the Transportation Department.
“Everyone who works here is great and I love being a part,” she says. “I appreciate Ms. Alison for this opportunity and for helping me along.”
The admiration is mutual.
“I wish all the kids had her work ethic,” says Ms. Alison. “She's always right where she's supposed to be and would ask the kids every afternoon how their day was. She holds up that badge and says, ‘I work for the school system, and you will listen.’ And they do. She connects so well with them. She is awesome.”
