Parents put their trust in school bus drivers to safely transport students to and from school every day, or to school activities and back again. This is why drivers receive extensive training to learn the necessary skills to operate a school bus and navigate traffic, but rarely do they receive training on how to manage disruptive behaviors on the bus.
Fayette County Public Schools is helping its bus drivers learn how to effectively manage behavior on their buses by providing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) training. Fourteen of the county’s schools have already implemented PBIS, and since a school bus is a rolling classroom, essentially an extension of the brick and mortar school building, it makes sense that the program should carry over to the school bus as well.
Approximately 200 of Fayette’s school bus drivers attended their first PBIS training Sept. 22 at the Goza Operations Complex. Dr. Susan Barrow, intervention specialist for the school system, facilitated the training.
Barrow told the drivers that they are teachers in a moving classroom, and that they can turn the school bus into an environment for learning.
“You are one of the most important people to teach good behavior and social skills to your students. You are the first and last teacher of the day they see,” she said.
The essential practices of PBIS includes defining the behavior that is desired, teaching what that behavior looks like, monitoring to see who is demonstrating the behavior and who needs extra practice, and acknowledging students for good behavior.
Barrow asked the drivers to define what good behavior would look like on their buses (how to get on and off the bus safely, finding seats, smiling and saying “hello,” getting quiet when signaled to do so), and then to continually teach that behavior to their students, and reward them for demonstrating the positive behaviors they have been taught.
The drivers received “I am an awesome bus rider” tickets to hand out each day to students as an acknowledgement for good behavior. Barrow suggested that the drivers hand out at least five tickets each week.
“Children will comply with the rules 80 percent of the time; however, what percent of the time are they complimented for their good behavior?” she asked.
Barrow also gave the drivers information on how to set limits when behavior on the bus is not meeting expectations such as neutralizing arguing by using empathy instead of anger, delaying consequences and allowing time to find a solution to a problem, and offering students a choice in decision making so that they have a sense of control.
The school bus drivers will begin implementing the PBIS program on their school buses immediately, and will keep data regarding the number of behavioral incidents on their buses to see where improvements are being made, issues that still exist, and how to best resolve any unwanted situations.
