When Transportation

Coordinator Pam Holt heard about the book and the program, and that several

schools within the system were participating to become positive label

certified schools, she decided to implement the program in Fayette's transportation

system.

Research shows

that most student discipline problems start at the bus stop and usually

name-calling is at the heart of the problem. Holt believes the Casey program

can help students learn how to be more positive toward each other.

"School

bus safety is an important objective for anyone in the school bus business.

It has to be a partnership between schools, students, parents, drivers

and the transportation department," said Holt.

Partnership

is exactly what the Casey program is all about. It involves everyone who

is connected to working with students from teachers and administrators

to parents and staff. The program involves ongoing activities centered

on the use of positive words for a period of four-weeks as well as the

reading of the Casey book. After the four-week period is up, the school

or bus participating becomes positive label certified.

Ross, the program's

founder, has been working with Holt to tailor the program so that it can

be delivered to students while on the bus. Ross says she commends the

school system for expanding the program from the classroom to the curb.

"They

[the transportation department] have morphed traditional school buses

into 'Mobile Positive Word Zones' and set a good example for the entire

county," she said.

When Holt told

bus drivers about the program, Johnnie Lewis, driver of bus #222, was

one of the first drivers to jump on board. She says the program fit directly

into activities that she has been doing all along on her bus to help to

promote positive attitudes.

She started

using the Casey program on her bus in September. She asked her elementary

students from Robert J. Burch Elementary, who are also participating in

the program at school, to bring in a word each week that made them feel

special. Students hand their words to Lewis on a piece of paper that she

posts inside the bus. Once the bus reaches the school, Lewis takes a few

moments to discuss the words and find out why they make the student feel

special.

"I had

a kindergarten student who turned in the word 'baseball.' He told me it

was his favorite sport and that he felt like a winner when he thought

about baseball," said Lewis. "Who would have thought that 'baseball'

would make a child feel special?"

The program

has become so popular with the students that some of them are bringing

a word a day. Curious about what the words meant, Lewis' middle and high

school students from Flat Rock Middle and Sandy Creek High began asking

questions about the program and asked Lewis if they could participate,

too.

"I have

words from high school seniors down to kindergartners posted on the bus.

Believe it or not, all students look for new words posted as they get

onto the bus each day," commented Lewis. "Since we started the

program, I have noticed that students are being more courteous to each

other. When one accidentally bumps another instead of saying 'watch out'

they say 'excuse me' or 'I'm sorry.'"

Although the

four-week period for the program has past, Lewis' students are still bringing

in words and will continue to do so until the end of the school year.

"I have

encouraged all drivers participating to continue until the end of the

year so that we don't lose sight of what has been learned during the four-week

program. In this county we don't look at buses as merely a mode of transportation,

we want our drivers to see themselves as an extension of the classroom

and what we are doing here is reinforcing life skills that are being taught

in school everyday," said Holt.

The Casey positive

label certification program is included in the official character education

resources of the National Museum of Patriotism. The program is set to

be featured at the museum in a special Casey Citizenship Exhibit which

will feature all schools in the county that have participated in the program

along with the school system's transportation department.

"We are

honored to have this program at the museum. Our thanks to Fayette County

for these rolling examples of positive character and citizenship,"

said Jason Wetzel, director of the National Museum of Patriotism.