School Bus Safety Company, Inc. Announces Safety Superstars
HUDSON, Ohio (PRWEB) May 15, 2018 -- School Bus Safety Company, Inc., (SBSC) North America’s premier school bus safety and training company, is pleased to announce the winners of its month long Share Your Safety Story initiative who have been recognized as the next ‘Safety Superstars’ in the school transportation industry.
“We received so many inspirational and impressive submissions about people in the industry doing amazing things as it relates to safety,” stated Chris Walls, President of SBSC. “This community and customer effort really shed some light on the great work that is being done to make the industry safer and, most importantly, to keep kids safe.”
Submissions were received from school districts and organizations across North America during the month of April and were reviewed by a panel of SBSC Safety Experts. Winners were chosen based on innovation, inspiration and the positive impact they are making to go above and beyond to set a new safety standard within their organization.
The overall winner was Kanawha County Schools located in Charleston, West Virginia. Kanawha County Schools is the largest school system in West Virginia, serving over 26,000 students, representing the region’s diverse socioeconomic mix. The school system earned its Safety Superstar status through its effort to keep students safe by providing extensive training to its drivers and aides throughout the year.
“We are so pleased to be named the top Safety Superstar by School Bus Safety Company,” stated Jimmy Lacy, Supervisor of Safety & Training for Kanawha County Schools. “We really appreciate everything that SBSC does for our industry, from exceptional driver training materials to student safety education. So to be chosen by their panel of experts as the overall Safety Superstar winner is a testament to all of the dedication and hard work that the transportation team at Kanawha County Schools puts forth for our students and the community, every day.”
Each year, drivers, aides and mechanics at Kanawha County Schools are required to have a minimum 18 hours of in-service training that pertains to their job. The district accomplishes this by providing special needs training, railroad crossing training, student loading and unloading refresher training, pre-trip training and personal safety training.
Kanawha County Schools does not stop there, however, as they have bi-weekly safety meetings with its staff at each terminal. They also conduct fire emergency evacuation drills, and practice these with the staff in different scenarios. Staff members play the role of the students in these crisis scenarios. They have also done active shooter training on a school bus and practiced ways to disarm a shooter. The district’s training promotes the staff to think outside the box and thoroughly prepares them for what could happen in an emergency situation.
Other organizations placing an emphasis on safety were recognized by SBSC, as well. Orange County Public Schools (FL) has implemented safety messages from the maintenance shop each time a driver calls to check on a repair status and will be holding a different themed safety campaign each month beginning with the 2018-2019 school year.
The new Safety Manager at Hammonds Transportation (LA) took a personal approach to relating safety awareness to her drivers, bringing in accident survivors to discuss the consequences of distracted driving, among other real-life tactics, and the team has now had more than 130 days of accident-free service.
Greenville County Schools (SC) created a training program for all special needs drivers and aides with a manual, equipment training, traits and strategies for different disabilities, emergency medical training, hands-on training, a yearly testing process and a support team.
The Hawaii State Department of Education Student Services Branch implemented the SOAR initiative (Safe, Orderly, and Respectful), led by bus drivers to help better reach their elementary students and emphasize the importance of safety while getting on, riding, and getting off the bus.
Marietta City Schools (GA) has coordinated their safety training efforts with the Georgia Department of Education, and has implemented a permit class to assist driver candidates in the often cumbersome and difficult process of obtaining their Commercial Drivers License.
Additional winners include: Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission (NJ), Stock Transportation (Ontario, Canada), All-Star Transportation (CT), Springfield Public Schools (MO), Richmond County School System (GA), Garland Independent School District (TX), Chandler Unified School District (AZ), Fowler Elementary School District 45 (AZ) and Pomona Unified School District (CA).
“This Share Your Safety Story initiative was a great success, allowing us to honor and recognize those Safety Superstars making a difference within their organization and setting the new safety standard in school transportation,” added Walls.
School districts and transportation providers seeking to enhance their driver safety and training programs can learn more about School Bus Safety Company and their services and products at http://www.schoolbussafetyco.com.
About School Bus Safety Company, Inc.
The experts at the School Bus Safety Company (SBSC) have been designing school bus driver training programs for more than 20 years. SBSC was founded by Jeff Cassell, a safety expert with more than 20 years of experience in making kids safer. Mr. Cassell was responsible for both the installation of crossing gates on more than 38,000 buses and the first major installation of the Child Check-Mate System to ensure that drivers checked for sleeping children. To learn more about SBSC, please visit http://www.schoolbussafetyco.com.
Tim Ammon, [email protected], http://www.schoolbussafetyco.com, +1 888-518-3377 Ext: 510, [email protected]
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