Jenna Bush Hager Discusses School Bus Safety and Being a Mom in New York City

Since her time as a First Daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of President George W. Bush, has had many jobs. She was a teacher and is currently a writer and a journalist (you can catch her on the Today Show). But, as she will tell you, her most important job is being a mom to Mila, 2½, and Poppy, 3 months. That’s why she has teamed up with the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) and their Better Our Buses initiative, to help spread the word about propane-fueled school buses to makes kids’ rides to school safer. Here, she talks to us about some school bus safety tips, as well as how she is enjoying life as a mom of two in New York City.

Tell us about Better Our Buses?

It’s a group that I have become involved with. I was a teacher. I taught in D.C. and West Baltimore and now I’m a mom, so to team up with PERC and Better Our Busses seemed like a natural progression. First of all, I was totally unaware that there were these new propane school buses that are better for the environment and are also safer because they are much quieter. I don’t know if you remember those loud diesel buses we used to ride when we were little kids, but they have totally changed since then. So the fact that these propane busses exist and are better for children and the environment, and they are safer and less expensive, it seemed like a no-brainer for me to team up with PERC. PERC is also donating some of the money from their organization back to the schools, directly into the classroom and the teacher’s hands. And because I was a teacher, I know that the statistics are unbelievably alarming. So many teachers are spending their own money out of their own pockets to buy materials. So when I heard what PERC was doing, I just knew that I had to be part of it.

I know you worked with Boston Public Schools. Any plans for expanding the initiative?

It is all over the country, not just in Boston. And with statistics that show that these busses are better for the environment, better for children, and less expensive, I think it will continue to expand in large numbers.

What I really hope comes from this is that parents learn that these busses exist and start advocating for them with their school district. Because obviously anyone that’s a parent wants what’s better for his or her kids.

Any tips for parents to keep their children safe at bus stops and on the bus?

There are simple school bus safety tips, which sound obvious, but are important. For example, have your children sit on their behinds, not on their knees or backpacks and they should never stand while the bus is moving. These are things that people forget because it’s such second nature to ride a school bus.

BetterOurBuses.com recommends these tips:

• Get to the bus stop on time. Running after or behind a school bus is dangerous.
• Walk your children to the bus stop or have them walk in a group.
• Remind children to look right and left before they step of the bus.
• Parents and caregivers should wait on the side of the street where the children exit, not across the street.

How can people get involved?

Go to BetterOurBuses.com and listed is all the ways parents can get involved. But they can also advocate in their school districts. Talk to their community about the fact that these propane busses exist and that they are better for kids, they’re better for the environment, and they’re less expensive. The other thing is that these busses shrink budgets. We know how important it is that money goes directly toward education. So if it’s less expensive and school districts are paying less for transportation, then they can put the money back where it really matters.

REALTED: Find Schools in Your Area

I recently read that you and your mom will be collaborating on a children’s book, Our Great Big Backyard. Can you tell us about it?

I used my maternity leave with my daughter Poppy to write a children’s book and it’s about our National Parks. My mom has been a strong advocate for national parks. When she turned 40 she took a trip with her friends and rafted down the Grand Canyon and every year since, they visited another national park. With the 100^th anniversary of the National Parks, coming up in 2016, we just really wanted to write a book that celebrates our beautiful country.  The book is about a little girl named Jane who thinks she has her summer all mapped out. She’s going to play video games and hang out with her friends, but her parents have a different idea. They decide to take her on the Great American Road Trip. At first she’s grumpy and wants to be with her friends, but slowly the magic of our country comes alive to her. So it’s fun.

How do you like being a parent in NYC?

We were born and grew up in Midland, TX, which is a tiny one road town, so it is very drastically different from my early childhood, although I have lived on the East Coast for the last 10 years. We moved up from D.C. to Baltimore to NY. We keep moving farther and farther north. But I really love it here. I have to say, I was worried when my husband and I first moved here five years ago, we didn’t have children yet, so when I saw people with their strollers I felt like, “how am I going to do this?” But I will say I think that being a parent of young children and living in the city is actually really fun and somewhat easier. When I travel back to Texas and my friends are struggling to put their kids in and out of car seats, I think about how I walk my daughter to school every single morning, it’ s only a block away. We live a very “neighborhoody” lifestyle and we hang out in our neighborhood and we found the greatest parks and the greatest museums. I think that the city has so much to offer and I was shocked at how easy I find it. Granted, it is hard being a mother, but living in the city with young children is actually accessible and really wonderful. 

Main photo by Daniel Ebersole

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