FIRST TAKE
Training for Self-Preservation Protection of the children on the school bus is par-
amount in this industry. But who protects the school employee? Jacqueline Grant, a bus aide with contractor Dean
Transportation in Marysville, Mich., posed a similar question recently in our Linkedin group. She and more than a dozen others indicated their jobs are rewarding but are not without risk. Drivers and aides too often find themselves in a number of predicaments on the school bus. For example, several transporters told of being spit on, hit and choked — not necessarily out of student aggression but because of a particular student’s special needs. Many respondents mentioned the benefit of using on-board cameras to
ryan@stnonline.com By Ryan Gray
Publisher: Tony Corpin Editor: Ryan Gray
Associate Editor: Sylvia Arroyo Technical Editor: Robert Pudlewski Senior Designer: Kimber Horne Graphic Designer: Maria Molina Copy Editor: Michelle Fisher
document student behavior so parents can see for themselves exactly what hap- pened. Cameras, after all, can remove the “he said, she said” from any situation. Assigned seating and seat belts are also considered effective deterrents to
acting out by rambunctious schoolchildren. In a survey reported in Industry Connections on page 17, more than half of the 119 people responding to a question on the correlation between seat belts and student behavior said the restraint systems have a positive effect. Meanwhile, 23.5 percent said they have no effect on behavior, and 11 percent said they weren’t sure. More than 13 percent offered “other” responses, which ranged from seat belts being used only per a student’s IEP, to some students using the buckles to hit other children, to seat belts being used precisely to keep students from acting out in the first place. Aside from additional equipment on the bus to protect students from
themselves — as well as the drivers and aides caught in the middle — training continues to play a vital role in prevention. For example, Elizabeth Reaume, the county transportation supervisor for special needs at Shiawassee Regional Educational Service District in Lansing, Mich., said all drivers and aides receive training from the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). Several school bus contractors have said they train their personnel to not get
involved in a breaking up a school bus fight and instead to pull safely off the road and call dispatch or 911 for assistance. Te reasoning is that, if the driver becomes incapacitated while attempting to break up a fight, the entire school bus can be put into jeopardy. Tis was reportedly the case during the much- publicized September 2009 school bus beating in Belleville, Ill., that was captured on bus video, when the driver seemingly did nothing to stop an attack. Peggy Burns, owner of Education Compliance Group, once told me that a
situation should never escalate to the point of a driver having to make the decision of whether or not to get involved. As for training, this is why we partner this summer with CPI to offer preventive techniques for drivers, aides and all transportation staff. Te July 21 pre-conference seminar Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® will help attendees learn how to identify behaviors that can lead to a crisis and how to best respond to various behaviors to prevent them from escalating. CPI will also teach transporters proper verbal and nonverbal communication techniques to defuse aggression and ways to cope with their own fear and anxiety. As Mom and Gandhi taught us, nonviolence is the answer. But be pre- pared, just in case. ■
Contributing Editors:
Linda Bluth, Peggy Burns, Michelle Fisher, John Whelan, Dick Fischer, Denny Coughlin, Ned Einstein, Glen Moyer, Art Gissendaner, Anson Stewart, Shanna Thompson Zareski
Vice President: Colette Paul
General Manager: Branden Smeltzer Editorial Director: Ryan Gray
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Chairman of the Board: Bill Paul, STN Media Group Editorial Advisory Board:
Denny Coughlin, Consultant; Judith Dupille, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles; Dick Fischer, Trans-Consult; Ron Love, Delaware DOE; Randy McLerran, National Bus Sales; Pete Meslin, Newport-Mesa Unified; Nancy Netherland, Migrant-Seasonal Head Start; Robert Pudlewski, Consultant; Alexandra Robinson, NAPT; Launi Schmutz, Washington County Schools
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10 School Transportation News Magazine May 2012
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