Buncombe County Schools surprises A.C. Reynolds bus driver Frances Hyatt

Frances Hyatt finished her morning route at A.C. Reynolds High School and walked straight into a surprise that turned a routine bus stop into a districtwide salute. Assistant principal Kristin and others were there to recognize Hyatt, a gesture that put a name and face on the school bus driver role many Buncombe County families rely on every day.

For Buncombe County Schools, the recognition carried more weight than a simple thank-you. The district says its transportation department provides daily bus service to more than 10,000 students, with 208 yellow buses and 45 white activity buses covering about 15,800 miles each day. Those routes do not just carry students to and from class. They also move them to field trips and athletic contests, making drivers part of the daily rhythm of school life from the first bell to the last activity run.

That is why the district has repeatedly framed bus-driver recognition as a student-experience issue, not just a personnel honor. Transportation Director Jeremy Stowe has described drivers as “the first school employee students see in the morning and the last one they see before heading home.” In a Feb. 9, 2026 board briefing, Superintendent Dr. Rob Jackson said, “Next week we will honor our bus drivers,” underscoring how openly the district ties transportation to student support and school culture.

The Hyatt recognition also fits an established pattern. In 2025, Buncombe County Schools surprised Donna Edwards as its Bus Driver of the Year with Dr. Rob Jackson, Stowe, PEP principal Dr. Thea Wilson, assistant principal Dr. Wendy Hannah and other transportation staff present. A year earlier, Sheila Donahue of A.C. Reynolds Middle School and A.C. Reynolds High School was named the 2024 Bus Driver of the Year, and the district said she had a six-year streak of perfect attendance.

Taken together, those recognitions show how much Buncombe County Schools depends on frontline workers whose jobs are easy to overlook until something goes wrong. For families, a dependable bus driver is not a background detail. It is the person who helps set the tone for the school day, keeps students moving safely across the county and holds together a system that starts before sunrise and runs long after dismissal.