Bus Drivers Prepare with Safety Training
Tecumseh district bus drivers participated in safety training this summer to enhance the safe and reliable transportation TLS offers students every day.
The training included our drivers on an actual school bus. They were introduced to various role-playing scenarios using prop weapons. Bus drivers learned how to bring a situation to a resolution using practiced techniques. The various scenarios that were covered included:
- Responding to a bus occupant with a weapon or bomb on the bus.
- Responding to fighting and disruptive behavior on the bus.
- Responding to an unauthorized person attempting entry on the bus.
- Responding to a bus accident.
- Responding to emergency and medical situations.
On-bus instructors (OBI), Nikki Printz and Johanna Brents, transportation supervisor Karen Lokai, and assistant superintendent Paula Crew, attended a School Resource officer training last school year to be able to offer trainings like this in-house to prepare bus drivers in situational safety issues that could potentially occur while the students are under their care on the route to and from school.
Our school staff receive A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training detailing specific courses of action which should be taken in emergency situations such as responding to an armed intruder in the school building. This professional development training opportunity for our bus drivers mirrors the training on a school bus setting. This training gives our bus drivers greater information and experiences for reacting to potential situations that may occur, thus increasing the likelihood that a potential event or situation will be more likely to be safely resolved.
By Karen Lokai, Transportation Supervisor
By Paula Crew, Assistant Superintendent