What does Where's Waldo mean?
"Where's Waldo" is a game where you have to scan a sketch of a crowd, looking for a particular person. By using where's-waldo as a verb, I think the writer means the student is not going to read the passage, but just scan over it, looking for a few words that resemble the question.
In this story “ Waldo” is really Jay Van Arman and he is somewhere on this Orange Southwest School District Bus. I found him but then again I have known him for years and can spot him anywhere he travels. I particularly like the social distancing that is happening here.