Pearland ISD highlights transportation operations manager Terrell "TJ" Aldridge

Terrell "TJ" Aldridge, transportation operations manager for Pearland ISD's Transportation Department, said he began driving a school bus at age 19 and brings 23 years of experience in education and transportation to the district. "I started driving school bus at the age of 19," Aldridge said. "While I was going to college, I was also driving a school bus. And so transportation, education, it's my passion."

Aldridge described his daily routine as checking in with each department and maintaining parent communications to ensure routes and operations run smoothly. "So when I come in, I actually go to each of my departments, check-in with them, see how are things going, and then I start parent communication or different things," he said.

He emphasized the role drivers play in students' lives and in the community, saying drivers "know their community" and can support students and families beyond the mechanics of a route. "A driver knows their community. A driver engages with their family. That driver has the tools to actually help lift them up that morning, and then at the end of the day, they're the ones that see them home," Aldridge said. The transcript also describes Aldridge as focused on building relationships with parents and administration so the district associates his name with a "smiling face" and patience.

Pearland ISD's transportation spotlight presents Aldridge's statements and the department's priorities—student safety, efficient operations and parent communication—but does not include policy changes, budget figures or formal board actions. The remarks appear in a staff-profile segment recorded for district communications.