“We have an uncanny gift for discerning how children feel,” he said.
When Cruse asked the kindergarten what was wrong, he said the boy explained that he couldn’t finish his reading assignment because his parents were busy with his four siblings at the House.
It was hard to find one-on-one time to practice reading with his mom or dad, he told Cruse.
Cruse said an idea came to mind.
“I said to him, ‘Listen, I have free time, and if you don’t mind, I would like to come to school and read with you,'” he said.
Cruse received permission from the 6-year-old’s teacher, Alexandria Bakley, to come to her kindergarten class the following week.
When he walked in, he said the boy shouted, “Hey, that’s my bus driver!”
“We went to a quiet corner and started reading together,” Cruse said. “It was a book called ‘I like lunch’, about a boy who likes sandwiches, a boy who likes apples, a boy who likes biscuits and a boy who likes milk. Put it all together and you have lunch.
“So he read to me, I read to him, and we read together, and from there he took on a life of his own,” Cruse continued. “A second student wanted to read to me, then a third. All these children were going to see the teacher to ask him: ‘Can I read with Mr. Herman?’ »
Nearly two years later, Cruse now volunteers to help Bakley’s 18 kindergarten students and another kindergarten class read two days a week, and on the third day he teaches first and second graders. from school. After dropping the kids off at school, of course.
He and Bakley decided to call his book circle “Mr. Herman’s Kids.
“Herman is goofy, silly and super positive and the kids love him,” Bakley, 27, said. “It’s a bright light in our school that makes every child feel loved and heard – they’re all drawn to its energy.”
Middle Township Elementary Principal Christian Paskalides said every kid in the school looks up to Cruse, both on and off the school bus.
“He’s just a very likeable guy, and it’s definitely a passion for him,” he said.
“Positive adult interactions can sometimes dictate a child’s day, and a bus driver is the first and last adult interaction for most students other than family,” Paskalides added. “It’s more than just a job for Herman – he’s a great role model and mentor.”
Cruse said he never wanted to be anything other than a bus driver.
When his sophomore teacher in Atlantic City asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he was ready with an answer.
“Some of my classmates wanted to be a doctor or a firefighter or a nurse, but without hesitation I said, ‘I want to drive buses,'” he said. “It’s a blessing to be able to do what I’ve always dreamed of.”
Cruse has driven for several school districts since his first job in 1990, and he has worked for Middle Township Public Schools for nine years.
Because he lives in Egg Harbor City, NJ, about 40 miles away, it made no sense for him to drive home after delivering students in high school, middle school, and elementary school, he said, noting that as soon as he had made himself comfortable, “it would be time to go get them.”
“Instead, I would hang out at the gym, go to the library, or sit in my car and go to sleep to fill in the time,” Cruse said.
It wasn’t until he offered to help the kindergarten child on his bus last year that he realized he could do something more rewarding, he said. Cruse had spent a lot of time reading to his five children when they were growing up.
“They were like, ‘Dad, how come you read so much?’ and I was like, ‘Come and find out,’” he said. “I would tell them, ‘The book is always better than the movie.'”
“There’s nothing better than spending time with a good book,” Cruse added. “When I was a kid, I loved reading World Book encyclopedias. I also read road maps and road atlases. I guess they helped guide me in what I do now for a living.
When Bakley showed him the round table where children were reading to him in his classroom, he pulled out a small chair and made himself at home, he said.
“It was just fine, and it’s a joy to see the kids get excited when they learn to pronounce words,” Cruse said. “They feel a sense of pride. I love how reading opens up a whole new world to them. I feel lucky to see this first hand.
He spends about 20 minutes reading books with each child in turn, and he also challenges them to word games like alphabet bingo.
LaCotia Ruiz said her 5-year-old son Kingsly has been more excited about books since he started reading with Cruse.
“Kingsly struggled with reading at the start of the school year, but he’s doing a lot better thanks to this fun one-on-one time,” Ruiz said.
“In the morning he wakes up excited and says, ‘I’m going to read with Mr Herman! ‘” she said.
Cruse’s enthusiasm for his new role spilled over to his colleagues, he said.
“There is now another bus driver who wants to help me between his routes,” he said. “What started as a way to kill time has now turned into a way to make a difference in a child’s heart.”
