Caring, calm, patient, reliable and safe: News media often use these words to describe school bus drivers when they act heroically or retire after decades of exemplary service. Other valued traits are courage and selflessness — think of Chuck Poland, who was murdered last year while protecting a busload of students from an armed madman.
Yet not every bus driver possesses these traits naturally, which is why training is a vital tool for promoting strong character as well as quick thinking. A well-trained driver is “ready to expect the unexpected,” according to Reggie Jenkins, First Student’s training center manager in Cincinnati. Equally important, Jenkins said, is regularly monitoring drivers after training to make sure they are following the proper process.
First Student developed and implemented a new “hands-on” driver-training program a year ago that Jenkins said is the best he has seen during his eight-year tenure.
“It flows better because it goes from the classroom right to the bus,” he explained. “We teach them how to be more aware and how to react, so they’re prepared for various scenarios. If you haven’t received this training, you won’t be able to think as fast.”
Monitoring the drivers after the training has taken the front seat in this new program as well.
“We take the drivers out for an evaluation to make sure they’re still going through the process we trained them to do. It’s an onbus audit,” he added.
Pete Meslin, director of transportation at Newport-Mesa (Calif.) Unified School District, said he and his trainers have used the SmartResponder system to instantly provide feedback on drivers’ understanding of training material. For the same reason, educators use the system as well.
“It allows trainers to instantly measure
This information can also be gathered into statistical reports that help target refresher class design and also measure trainer effectiveness,” noted Meslin.
He recalled visiting a school district in Oregon that conducted some of its training on a bus-driving simulator.
“They’re testing drivers’ reflexes, and they do it scientifically. If you’re not quick enough to be safe, it’s nothing personal — but we’re not going to put you on a school bus loaded with children. It’s objective, not subjective,” he added. “You have to have a certain personality to do well in this job.”
EFFECTS OF CONSTANT MONITORING
As director of transportation at Wilson County (Tenn.) Schools, Joshua Hinerman has used a plethora of training tools to better himself and his drivers, including the Smith System Defensive Driving program, Safe Pupil, the Dr. Nancy Blackwelder series, The Peaceful School Bus program, Operation Lifesaver and offerings from the American Red Cross, Education Compliance Group, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI), School Bus Safety Company, and School Training Solutions.
“These programs and their respective authors have contributed directly to the success of our drivers while behind the wheel of a school bus,” said Hinerman, crediting the Smith program for helping his team achieve a 35-percent reduction in crashes and on-board incidents.
“I believe that student management is the most trying issue that school bus drivers have to address on a daily basis. I find it difficult to explain to drivers that they must be calm and cool in every situation,” he emphasized.
Hinerman also has driver trainers, including a third-party tester, ride on routes throughout the school year and observe all drivers.
“It is through the on-board observation that they are able to provide much-needed constructive criticism on how they operate a school bus and interact with their passengers,” Hinerman said.
As a leader, he said believes it is his duty to help his fellow co-workers develop into the best transportation professionals that they can be. Even in his youth, he said he learned the importance of putting others first.
“We are happy in life when we are helping others,” he continued, noting that the AngelTrax digital cameras on every bus ensure accountability. “The cameras help the drivers and students learn from their mistakes, which I tell them we will all make, but that we must learn from them in a loving fashion. The cameras help us to solidify concerns
from parents about risky driver behavior, too, such as cell phone use.”
Sheryl A. Alden, Ph.D. is the assistant director of transportation at Denton Independent School District in Texas. She said the district decided to upgrade their onboard surveillance system with digital, high-res cameras from Safety Vision to help with student management. She also said she values the surveillance system for keeping an eye on her bus drivers.
“The reaction of the drivers were mostly positive because being a school bus driver, you can’t see everything that goes on,” remarked Alden. “There have been changes in the bus drivers in that they do watch more how they act on the buses because they know if we get a complaint, we can always pull the video.”
Video footage has been used in cases when bus drivers have been accused of texting while driving or executive director of PTSI, told STN that two hot training topics are distracted driving and driver fatigue.
“We speak to things the drivers can and must do to control the impact of distractions both internal and external, as well as fatigue,” she said.
Today, people are so bombarded with information that it is especially important for transportation professionals to set aside time to process what they have learned after training, Furneaux noted.
“The most valuable technology on a school bus will always be the ability of a welltrained driver or attendant to think through a situation and make judgments on the appropriate action to be taken,” she emphasized.
Meslin said video and other technologies like GPS, speed alarms and speed governors have a place in monitoring driver effectiveness, but human feedback is still essential.
“Technology should not replace a thorough driver review system that involves people,” he said. “Ride-alongs, driving evaluations, reports from customers, and visual inspections of vehicles and drivers are not going away any time soon.”
LEARNING FROM EXPERTS
Patrick Willi, director of School Training Solutions, said “The Threat of Road Rage” and “Bullying Identification and Prevention” were two of the most requested professional development training programs from the company this past year.
“We get a majority of our feedback from transportation directors and/or trainers at the county level,” explained Willi. “The most pressing issues in training right now are related to bullying and potential active shooter situations or school bus hijacking.”
Supervisors often prefer online modules, he continued, because the drivers can take this portion when their individual schedules allow and be ready for testing or behindthe- wheel training. The online courses provide instant feedback, offer a consistent presentation and track progress.
“Online training is a piece of the training puzzle,” Willi clarified. “Training, practice and experience are all necessary for the best school bus drivers.”
Meslin stressed that the staff at Newport- Mesa Unified mixes up learning by using creative teaching approaches that combine hands-on training, skits and game- show formats with lectures, videos and computerized lessons.
“One of the most valuable new trends is co-training. We take every opportunity to utilize local resources who have specific expertise in areas in which drivers could benefit,” noted Meslin.
For example, rather than having driver trainers teach about how to deal with significant behavior issues, he will have one of the district’s behavior specialists teach the topic. Similarly, he will invite the local fire department to teach about proper usage of fire extinguishers and nurses teach about seizure protocols and medical devices.
Jeff May, founder and CEO of Apex SCF, has also made it a priority to put his students into real-world situations with safety training led by former law enforcement and security professionals.
“We’ve been teaching active shooter response to bus and motorcoach drivers, including evasive and tactical driving techniques … What we teach helps them with violent behavior aboard the bus,” May said, adding that he plans to bring on a dozen more trainers to handle the high demand. “Everybody has that inner tiger and you have to learn how to bring it out and the right time to do it.”
People who often become victims are those who freeze during a violent incident or emergency situation, May pointed out, and the reason for the “freeze factor” is simple: lack of training.
“They’re looking for answers that aren’t there because they haven’t had the right training,” he said. “Now, people are seeing they do have the ability to protect themselves while they’re sitting behind the wheel of a big yellow bus. Training makes them feel empowered.”
Kelly Knapp and Michelle “Miki” Wood from Storey County School District in Nevada can attest to that. Knapp is transportation director, while Wood oversees driver training and student management in Virginia City, home of the TV series “Bonanza.”
“The town is 140 years old and the streets are built for cars and horses,” said Knapp, who heard about the Apex program from a news reporter covering the 2013 Sparks Middle School shooting.
She decided to try something new because of the spate of school violence nationwide.
“As an individual, I felt a lot more confident and empowered and able to help myself and others in an active shooter situation after this training,” she shared.
“I’m a grandmother,” said Wood, “but I learned that it didn’t matter how old you are, what physical shape you’re in. You don’t have to overpower someone — you are outsmarting them.”
During the Apex training, students learn techniques that May refers to as “verbal judo.”
“We laugh a lot and have fun, but when it comes to teaching serious stuff, we have (everyone) use strong language and loud voices. They learn to use body posturing to make them appear stronger and more powerful and not like a victim,” he explained.
Added Wood: “I think people who are school bus drivers have something inside them to make them stand up for children — it’s grit. Even when we interview people, you can tell if a person will take charge and protect students.”
