Transcript Document

BUS
SAFETY
We like to promote the fact that
school buses are the safest way to get
students to school. School bus
professionals know that students are
safer in school buses than they are in
parent’s cars, sibling’s cars, walking, or
riding bicycles. But, we need to be
careful not to use a definition of safety
that is too limited.
Accidents
Injuries
Broken Bones
Crashes
Collisions
Bus
Safety
Unfortunately, in many ways we have
failed realize that parents, children,
and other stakeholders measure safety
differently than we do.
In 2009 the North
Carolina Center for
Urban Affairs and
Community Services
discovered some
interesting facts
about public school
transportation in
the Tar Heel State
Student
Safety
Many parents in North
Carolina take their children to
school, or find some way for
their children to get to school
other than the school bus.
The survey put out by the
Center for Urban Affairs and
Community Services found
that the biggest reason those
parents did not want their
children on was not that they
felt like the bus might have an
accident or collision. Instead
they were concerned about
the behavior of the children
on the bus.
Bullying
Harassment
Fighting
Yelling
Disrespect
Throwing things
Bus
Drivers
Being a school bus driver is one of the
most thankless jobs in the school system.
In November, Jennings (Kevin Jennings is
the Assistant Deputy Secretary of
Education in charge of the Office of Safe
and Drug Free Schools) told NAPT
attendees that a recent survey by John
Hopkins University and the National
Education Association found that
students who take the bus to and from
school are about 18 percent more apt to
report bullying than students who ride to
school using another mode of
transportation. And bus drivers are more
likely to report bullying incidents than
other school personnel. (stnonline.com)
A school bus driver on Monday accused
administrators of failing to deal with what
the driver said were longstanding
discipline problems with students aboard
district school buses.
BUS DRIVERS
are very
aware of the
problem
Bus
Drivers
Below are some quotes from a story
about a father’s concerns about the
bullying that his son had to endure.
"My child, when he's on that bus, it's
the bus driver's responsibility," Bartley
said. "And I feel like she failed my
child. I feel like the school board is
failing me and my child.“
But Bartley says his son has repeatedly
been bullied for more than a year and a
half. He says he's reported it, but the
school has not put a stop to it.
• Bus Drivers are
REQUESTING training on
how to manage the
behavior of the students on
our buses.
• Bus drivers are blamed for
behavioral problems on
their buses.
BEHAVIOR
THROWING
INTERVENTION
THINGS
REFERRALS
HARASSMENT
PROBLEMS
BULLYING SUSPENSION
EATING AND
CONSEQUENCES
COMPLAINTS
DRINKING
HANGING OUT
DISCIPLINE YELLING
FIGHTING
THE WINDOWSHOW DO I GET
PUNISHMENT
PARENTS
THEM TO STOP?
BUT THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF AN ICEBERG IS NOT PART
THAT IS ABOVE THE SURFACE.
Inconvenient
The simple truth is that we focus on
the visible part of the iceberg because
it is the easiest to see… We review our
referral process, our consequences,
our suspensions, because we can
collect and review that information.
We hope that if we could just get the
right consequence, then the kids
would behave better, then it would be
like the good old days.
The good old days were not really that
good. Recent efforts at holding
schools accountable are requiring
schools to find ways to teach all
children.
Today, our goals are loftier, harder to
attain.
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Training
Communication
Review
Guidance
Information
Open House
Publicize
Disseminate
Evaluate
Plan
Stay Calm
Inconvenient
We do a great job of teaching school
bus drivers to back up their big yellow
vehicles, and we do a great job making
sure they are not bringing bad driving
habits into the job by checking MVRs
and things like that.
We do a poor job helping them learn
how to deal with children.
Sometimes, because we need drivers
so desperately, we hire drivers who are
not very good with children.
Driving a school bus is an insanely
difficult job. No good teacher turns
their back on their class for an
extended period of time because they
not that is a perfect recipe for disaster.
•That is
why we
pay them
so much.
Emotional
Learn theManagement
Policies
Training
Names
Planning
Procedures Communication
Model
Motivation Respect
Avoid
Sarcasm
Evaluations
Willing to be
Climate
Inconvenienced
Effectiveness
Discussions
Relationships
Recruitment
Preparation
The Right Fit
Resources
Likes Kids
Planning
Successful bus drivers will plan for
their routes. They will anticipate the
children that they have on the bus
and they will find ways to reach them
in a positive manner.
Bus drivers will develop a list of rules
that can help maintain the behavior
of the students – and the bus driver
on the bus.
Bus drivers will establish procedures
find ways to teach them to the
students driving the bus. They will
explain, rehearse, review and reteach.
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Fun Facts
Theme Songs
Crayons
Greetings
Rewards
Seating Charts
Parent Contacts
Bus Rules
Bus Procedures
TRAINING
School bus drivers need to be trained
how to interact with children. This
training needs to be proactive in
teaching them how to create a climate
on the bus that is warm, respectful
and welcoming
• Bus drivers are incredibly
well trained at driving.
• As “School” bus drivers we
have to find ways to teach
them to manage the
particular kind of cargo
they carry.
Emotional
• Don’t Threaten
Management • Stay Calm
Numerous behavioral management
documents emphasize that personal
confrontations must be avoided. Bus
drivers must be trained to deal with
problem behaviors without becoming
personally entangled in the behavior.
This involves being firm without being
judgmental. Drivers must learn to
limit the behaviors they want to
control to behaviors they really can
control, and it also means that they
must be able to follow through on
what they say.
• Don’t Be the Enemy
• Take Care of Yourself
Procedures
Children on buses will behave better if
procedures are put in place to provide
them with direction. The best time to
establish or change procedures is at
the beginning of the year.
Typical procedures are things like
assigning seats, proper line up before
the bus door will be opened, what to
do in case of standing or moving seats,
what to do if late to the bus stop.
The real purpose of procedures is to
establish a non personal approach to
managing behavior. There is less to
get angry about when a driver says
“that is not the procedure we follow,”
compared to, “I said be quiet NOW!”
Establishing and maintaining
procedures is a skill.
Time to line up
I can’t continue the route
till everyone is seated
You need to sit in your
assigned seat
Proactive
• The most important thing that a school bus
driver, teacher or childcare worker can do is to
anticipate how the children will behave.
• Make plans to promote an environment that
favors getting along.
• Make plans to correct student behavior,
knowing that the best plans may be
inconvenient.
Two
Drivers
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Communication
Proactive
Calm and Patient
Setting the Standard
Recruiting allies
Deputizing
Drivers
John Farr of Oceanside California
began deputizing drivers to handle
discipline themselves.
Drivers are trained to call parents and
to handle meet with principals about
more serious behavior.
Depends on drivers being able to
disengage from escalating
conversations.
• Call Parents
• Meet with principals
• Assign Seats