For Kathy Ingram, Driving a School Bus Has Been the Cat’s Meow of Career Choices Kathy “Miss Kitty” Ingram previously worked in home health care and food service. But, 33 years ago, she found her true calling when she and her sister moved from Michigan to Rockford, Illinois. Upon arrival, she responded to an ad seeking new bus drivers for RPS 205. That phone call changed her life. “I wasn’t sure it was for me, but the people were so nice, and the pay and benefits were more than fair, so I jumped in with both feet,” Miss Kitty recalled. When asked what skills have been important during her decades-long career, she had a ready answer. “I’m a mom, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother,” she said. “The skills you develop as a parent are really helpful when you’re driving children to and from school. You don’t have to be a parent to succeed in this job, but it certainly helps.” “You know how it is," she added, "You develop a sense of what’s going on behind a child’s face if they’re having a hard time,” she added. “I try to pay attention to how my kids are feeling every day, and maybe say a little something encouraging if I think it will help." One of her favorite bus driver job perks is the scheduling flexibility and the long breaks between routes, which allow plenty of time for personal errands, chores and leisure activities. “It's true that we drivers have lonnnnng lunch hours,” Miss Kitty joked. “That and the scheduling flexibility might be some of my favorite benefits. You pretty much get to design your own schedule. What’s better than that? The pay is fair, and our health insurance and pensions are much appreciated by all drivers, I’m sure.” Kathy “Miss Kitty” Ingram has become a living legend at Rockford Public Schools, well-known by her co-workers and thousands of students alike.
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