First Student Culture | Comparably
Comparably
Competitors:MV Transportation
First Student
We Transport Growing Minds At First Student, we believe that education offers students and their families the foundation for productive and successful lives. We take great pride in our ability to support education by making sure children have safe, friendly and reliable transportation to and from school. read more
EMPLOYEE
PARTICIPANTS
262
TOTAL
RATINGS
2286
Updated on: January 19, 2026

First Student Company Culture

First Student Culture

This score is derived from employee ratings & reviews
2.6/5
First Student's Overall Culture is rated D

Top Rated Culture Dimensions

Diversity
C+
Gender
C
Retention
C
Environment
C-
Team
C-

First Student CEO

Bottom 15%Bottom 15% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
Dennis Maple First Student's CEO
Dennis Maple
57 /100
See More

Diversity at First Student

Top 50%Top 50% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
C+

Diverse employees at First Student have rated Environment, Manager, and Retention as the highest categories they have scored

Women at First Student

Bottom 45%Bottom 45% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
C

Women at First Student have rated Team, Retention, and Environment as the highest categories they have scored

First Student eNPS

Net Promoter Score tracks your employees' overall score to this question: "On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend working at your company to a friend?"
Bottom 30%Bottom 30% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably

Recommend to a Friend?

-23

First Student employees are -23% more likely to recommend First Student as a great place to work

28%Promoters
21%Passives
51%Detractors

Working at First Student

Working at First Student is rated below average by 262 employees, across various culture dimensions. First Student employees rate Retention highest among all categories, and think that Perks And Benefits and Happiness have the most room for improvement, putting First Student’s culture in the Bottom 20% compared to similar sized companies on Comparably. See below in detail how working at First Student was rated by employees.

Overall Company Culture at First Student

D

Overall Company Culture at First Student is rated D

Last updated 7 days ago

Bottom
20%

First Student ranks in the Bottom 20% of other companies on Comparably with 10,000+ Employees for Overall Company Culture Score

Overall Company Culture Score by Department

This graph details how each department scores their Overall Company Culture

Results from 262 Employees

View Results
0
20
40
60
80
100
Customer Support
70
Customer Support70
Operations
65
Operations65

First Student Employee Reviews

Out of 244 First Student employee reviews, 68% were positive. The remaining 32% were constructive reviews with the goal of helping First Student improve their work culture.

68%
32%
Positive Reviews68%
Constructive Feedback32%

Positive Reviews From First Student Employees

  • What are some of the best things about your team?
    They are very versed with proceedure
  • What are some of the best things about your team?
    Participation with certain employees communication needs to be approved
  • What do you like best about the leadership team?
    Their approachable individuals whom you can talk to in order to receive answers that's needed
Read More Positive Reviews

Constructive Feedback From First Student Employees

  • What does the leadership team need to get better at?
    Managerial skills overall, people skills, routing skills all need to be looked into and an overhaul should be taken into consideration
  • What needs to change to make the company culture better?
    Better quality of people in leadership positions,
  • What do your coworkers need to improve and how could you work together better?
    Better management to teach cooperation.
Read More Constructive Reviews

First Student Company Information

First Student Mission, Vision & Values

First Student Mission Statement

We Transport Growing Minds At First Student, we believe that education offers students and their families the foundation for productive and successful lives. We take great pride in our ability to support education by making sure children have safe, friendly and reliable transportation to and from school.

First Student Vision Statement

We provide solutions for an increasingly congested world, keeping people moving and communities prospering. The reality is this: managing transportation within your district can be a challenge. Securing capital for new buses, managing routing issues, recruiting and training drivers, and keeping parents and administrators informed all consume valuable time, and can take precious focus and resources away from where they’re needed most: the classroom. First Student is committed to easing your daily transportation challenges and ensuring your students have the best possible ride to and from school.

First Student Values

  • Committed to our customers
  • Dedicated to safety
  • Supportive of each other
  • Accountable for performance
  • Setting the highest standards
First Student Mission, Vision & Values
HeadquarterUnited States of America
Websitewww.firststudentinc.com/
Company StatusPrivate

First Student Competitors

First Student competitors include MV Transportation. First Student ranks 2nd in Overall Culture Score on Comparably vs its competitors. See below how First Student compares to its competitors with CEO Rankings, Product & Services, NPS, Pricing, Customer Services, Overall Culture Score, eNPS, Gender and Diversity Scores.

  1. #1
    MV Transportation's Logo
    MV Transportation
    2.9/5
  2. #2
    First Student's Logo
    First Student
    2.6/5
Learn More About First Student Competitors

First Student Employees

First Student has 10001 employees. 262 employees at First Student have reviewed First Student across various culture dimensions, providing their opinions on items ranging from executive ratings to the pace at work. The latest review was 7 days ago.

Overall, the 262 First Student employees give their leadership a grade of D, or Bottom 15% of similar size companies on Comparably. This includes specific ratings of their executive team, CEO, and manager.

Employees at First Student are mostly dissatisfied with their total compensation at First Student, which includes a combination of pay, stock and equity, and benefits.

Overall, employees at First Student are generally satisfied with their team. 262 Participants grade the quality of their coworkers a C-. Less than half believe the meetings at First Student are effective, and the majority look forward to interacting with their coworkers.

The majority of employees at First Student believe the environment at First Student is split between positive and negative. Most Participants believe the pace of work at First Student is moderate. About 87% of the employees at First Student work 8 hours or less, while 7% of them have an extremely long day - longer than twelve hours.

Overall, the employees at First Student are not very happy, based on their aggregated ratings of future outlook, customer perception, and their excitement going to work.

Joining First Student - Employee Onboarding

The prevailing opinion from employees about joining First Student is that the company was somewhat prepared on their first day. First Student employees concluded that their overall onboarding experience was positive. 100% said their direct manager was helpful with their acclimation during the first 90 days. First impressions are important, and how prepared a company is on your first day leaves a lasting impression.

First Student Employee Onboarding

First Student KPIs and OKRs

At this moment no First Student employees have provided insight into whether or not they clearly understand First Student's KPIs and OKRs.

AnswerPercent
Yes0%
No100%
Are your company's goals clear, and are you invested in them?
AnswerPercent
Yes100%
No0%
Are the KPIs/OKRs for your department clear?
First Student KPIs & OKRs

First Student CEO & Leadership

First Student CEO - Dennis Maple

Dennis Maple First Student's CEO
57 /100

Dennis ’s approval rate is lower compared to CEOs at similar sized companies, putting Dennis in the Bottom 15% of all CEOs of similar-sized companies on Comparably. Dennis Maple’s employees rank First Student in the Bottom 40% for Retention, in the Bottom 35% for Environment, and in the Bottom 35% for Team. Maple is generally unpopular with First Student employees, but ranks especially low with African American/Black employees, and by employees with Over 10 Years experience and employees with the company for 2 to 5 Years. However, employees in the Customer Support department have a slightly more favorable view of the CEO. When compared to First Student’s competitors, Dennis Maple ranks below MV Transportation CEO Kevin M. Jones.

First Student Leadership

The First Student Executive Team is rated a “D” and led by CEO Dennis Maple, Senior Vice President David Armitt, and Senior Vice President of Operations Roger Moore

  • Dennis Maple CEO / President

    Dennis Maple CEO / President

    Dennis Maple serves as the CEO / President of First Student.

  • David Armitt Senior Vice President

    David Armitt serves as the Senior Vice President of First Student. David started at First Student in Oct of 2007. David... read more

  • Roger Moore Senior Vice President of Operations

    Roger Moore serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations of First Student. Roger started at First Student in Jan of... read more

  • Scarla Gilbert VP, Business Development

    Scarla Gilbert serves as the VP, Business Development of First Student. Scarla started at First Student in Oct of 2018.... read more

  • Timothy Moline Senior Director Business Development

    Timothy Moline serves as the Senior Director Business Development of First Student. Timothy started at First Student in... read more

  • John Billigmeier Region Vice President

    John Billigmeier serves as the Region Vice President of First Student. John started at First Student in Sep of 2018.... read more

  • Phil Eades Region Vice President

    Phil Eades serves as the Region Vice President of First Student. Phil started at First Student in Sep of 2018. Phil... read more

  • Levette Divinity Managing Director

    Levette Divinity serves as the Managing Director of First Student.

  • Claire Miller SVP Strategy, Business Development, Marketing, and Communications

    Claire Miller serves as the SVP Strategy, Business Development, Marketing, and Communications of First Student.

See More Executives

Explore First Student Leadership Team

First Student Salaries

How much does First Student pay?

How much do people at First Student get paid? See the latest salaries by department and job title. The average estimated annual salary, including base and bonus, at First Student is $131,536, or $63 per hour, while the estimated median salary is $130,240, or $62 per hour.

At First Student, the highest paid job is a Director of Sales at $227,263 annually and the lowest is a Receptionist at $38,566 annually. Average First Student salaries by department include: Engineering at $141,471, Business Development at $161,226, Communications at $103,837, and HR at $125,288. Half of First Student salaries are above $130,240.

116 employees at First Student rank their Compensation in the Bottom 15% of similar sized companies in the US (based on 344 ratings) while 114 employees at First Student rank their Perks And Benefits in the Bottom 5% of similar sized companies in the US (based on 115 ratings).

Last updated months ago.

1st Percentile
$68k
$68k1st Percentile
17th Percentile
$98k
$98k17th Percentile
33rd Percentile
$129k
$129k33rd Percentile
50th Percentile
$187k
$187k50th Percentile
67th Percentile
$241k
$241k67th Percentile
83rd Percentile
$270k
$270k83rd Percentile
100th Percentile
$301k
$301k100th Percentile
$131,536*
Average Compensation
$130,240*
Median Compensation

* Estimated salaries Estimated salaries are based on data provided anonymously by employees and/or estimated by other statistical methods.

First Student Salaries by Department

Explore First Student Salaries

Diversity & Inclusion at First Student

Diverse employees at First Student score the company 66/100 across various culture categories, placing First Student in the Top 50% of companies on Comparably with 10,000+ Employees for Comparably's diversity score. The Diversity score provides insights into how diverse employees feel and rate their work experience at First Student across various culture dimensions.

Ranked Culture the Highest

Women 76/100
Tenure - 2 to 5 Years
Men 59/100
Department - Operations
Diverse Employees 87/100
Department - Customer Support

Ranked Culture the Lowest

Women 62/100
Tenure - 5 to 10 Years
Men N/A/100
Diverse Employees 55/100
Department - Operations
Explore First Student Diversity & Inclusion

First Student Perks & Benefits

Health & Wellness

  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Health Insurance
  • Life Insurance

Paid Time Off

  • PTO / Vacation Policy
  • Paid Holidays

Financial Benefits

  • 401K / Retirement Plan
  • Tuition Reimbursement

Office Perks

  • Work From Home Policy
  • Unique Office Space
Explore First Student Perks and Benefits

First Student PTO

First Student's PTO and Vacation policy typically gives 0-10 days off a year. First Student's benefits and PTO Package averages to represent a less than $500 cash value per month.

AnswerPercent
Flex Time100%
Vacation Policy0%
Office Meals0%
401k Contribution0%
Childcare0%
Other than healthcare, which of the following benefits is most important to you?
AnswerPercent
Yes0%
No100%
Does your boss expect you to work when you're on vacation?
AnswerPercent
$2500+/mo0%
$1500 - $2500/mo0%
$1000 -$1500/mo0%
$500 -$1000/mo0%
Less than $500/mo100%
What do you estimate the cash value of your benefits to be? Healthcare, PTO, etc?
First Student PTO Policy

First Student Careers

First Student Jobs

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Let First Student Know You Want To Work There

Overview of Candidates Interested in First Student on Comparably

Candidates By Department

All Industries
100%

Candidates By Location

Los Angeles
100%

Frequently Asked Questions regarding First Student

Who is the CEO of First Student?

First Student CEO is Dennis Maple, their score by employees is 57

What is First Student eNPS?

The eNPS for First Student is -23

What is the salary for Developer in First Student?

Developer average salary in the US is 118k

What are the salaries in the Admin in First Student?

The average salaries for Admin in First Student is 59k

How many employees work in First Student?

First Student has 10001 employees

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