A Kansas transportation director and two behavioral experts discussed how collaborative, personalized solutions help reduce behavior incidents and support students on the school bus while empowering drivers and monitors.
“My favorite part of student transportation is the students,” declared Lisa Riveros, director of transportation for Wichita Public Schools in Kansas, during the Thursday webinar sponsored by First Student. The district has over 16,000 student riders, 3,000 of whom have special needs. Riveros said partnering with First Student empowers her 600 drivers and monitors to work with students. Riveros confirmed that these techniques have reduced severe behavior incidents.
She recounted the story of a young student who racked up numerous behavior incidents within days, confounding transportation staff. Finally, they discovered that he needed attention and solved the issue by assigning him a teacher to ride with.
The district’s partnership with First Serves by First Student manifests itself in practical ways. School bus drivers will watch videos of their bus rides and discuss what could be improved. Sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones are provided to sensitive students. Storing and sharing notes across schools, buses and drivers reveals what works and what doesn’t. “About Me” forms are prepped with student input and tell staff what their current fixation is. Information in referral forms is available to administration and drivers.
“I feel that we can transport any student in a way that is safe and makes them ready for school,” Riveros stated.
“Positive results are driven by customized solutions.”
-Laura Greene-Halley, Senior Director of Student Services, First Student
Laura Greene-Halley, senior director of student services for transportation contractor First Student, reviewed challenges including increasing incidents of disruptive student behavior on buses, increasing frustration in drivers and monitors, one out of every six students having individual education programs calling for transportation as a related service, ineffective traditional paper referral processes, and the disproportionate educational impact on students with disabilities.
Greene-Halley stressed the importance of student support systems in bringing together educators, school bus staff and parents for the best interest of the student.
Dr. Susan King, executive director of CLP Consulting Group and a member of the FirstServes advisory board, reviewed the need for placing students in the least restrictive environment, which could mean a yellow bus, van or car with attendants available as needed.
“This is fluid – a student doesn’t have to be assigned to one vehicle forever,” King said. “When they have the right supports and the behavior gets under control, we can move them back to their same-age peer group and try to help foster their social and emotional development.”
“We’re quick to make it more restrictive as a response to behavior,” Greene-Halley agreed. “We really have a duty to these students to treat transportation the same as education, and that’s why the partnership becomes so important.”
“I feel that we can transport any student in a way that is safe and makes them ready for school.”
-Lisa Riveros, director of transportation, Wichita Public Schools (Kansas)
“Our students respond to consistency,” said King. She shared how First Student’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) uses an inverted triangle to illustrate how more restrictive supports should be used for increasingly smaller groups of students.
Tier 1, the largest, includes interventions that are successful for most students, like priority seating and positive behavior intervention support (PBIS). Medium-sized Tier 2 includes Tier 1 interventions plus mild individualized interventions, like check-in and check-outs, or an informative “About Me” form. Tier 3, the smallest, includes both Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions plus collaborative, specialized, intentional behavior intervention plans for the bus.
“They’re a gen-ed student first and then we put on supports as needed,” Riveros explained.
Training is only 15 percent effective when provided alone, Greene-Halley said. She advised additionally utilizing the First Serves offering, which creates a continuum of expectations and support so that pupil transporters and classroom educators are on the same page and can provide consistent service for students. This does not involve sharing Individualized Education Plan (IEP) information, she added, but rather notes such as a student’s preference for a favorite comforting blanket or an aversion to sitting by the stop arm. Technology speeds this whole process up and quickly gets pertinent information to necessary staff.
Consequently, she said, students arrive at school calmer and ready to learn, drivers and monitors feel empowered and supported, and leadership is better equipped to provide behavior-based support. Schools experience fewer referrals, stronger community ties and a reduced need for crisis support personnel.
“Our students respond to consistency.”
-Dr. Susan King, CLP Consulting Group
“It’s a matter of shifting the paradigm and making some changes up front so that there’s less having to react to things in the long run,” Greene-Halley stated. She shared that the First Serves system has won a T-Mobile Innovation Award and been recognized at educator conferences.
“Positive results are driven by customized solutions,” she said. “We all have the kids at the center of our heart.”
She confirmed that First Serves is available for districts that manage their own transportation in-house.
A key piece of driver coaching, Greene-Halley explained, is getting them to see that challenging student behavior is a form of their communication rather than simply something bad happening to the driver.
“Behavior is behavior is behavior,” she remarked, adding that MTSS works on general education buses as well. King noted that many gen ed students still have significant mental health issues and would benefit from support.
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