Au Gres-Sims students in grades K-2 have been learning about school bus safety. The children have discussed many basic school bus safety procedures, such as safely waiting for the school bus, the proper way to board and leave the bus, proper behavior while riding on the school bus, and obeying the driver and the safety patrols.

Also discussed were rules for avoiding the “danger zones,” those areas around the bus where children can disappear from the driver’s line of vision. This is where most casualties occur. Children in grades kindergarten through second grade are especially at risk in the danger zones. In response to this, the children have been learning to move at least 10 feet away from the bus in any direction in order to stay out of the “danger zones.”

You can help to reinforce these school bus safety concepts by discussing them with your children, including:

It is especially important that young children be supervised while waiting at the bus stop and when getting off the bus. You may want to form a group of parents in your neighborhood to share this responsibility. It is also advisable to provide your child with a backpack or book bag to carry school supplies and loose papers that might be dropped or fly away into the path of the bus or other vehicles. Also, if you are meeting you child at the bus, make sure that you are on the same side of the road as the bus stop. This will help prevent your child from running across the road to meet you and being struck by a vehicle whose driver has ignored the school bus stop law.

For your child’s safety, please do not drop off or pick up students in the parking lot. Please use sidewalks in front of both elementary and high school buildings.

Also, drivers will not release students from the bus to anyone or any place other than their regular stop without a signed permission slip from the parents and office.

Transporting children on school buses has proven to be among the safest forms of transportation. However, improvement of school bus safety should be a continuing effort on the part of parents, teachers, bus drivers, and school officials. Thank you for your help in teaching your children about school bus safety.

Sincerely,

Robert Lyon
Transportation Coordinator