Quality School Bus Services can Create a School-Wide Safety Culture
Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Stay six feet apart. We’ve all heard similar advice when it comes to how we can personally mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus—and so, probably, have our kids. However, if you’ve spent any time, at all, around children, you know that they can be forgetful—not a good characteristic to have when it comes to handling public health crises.
If your district is sending your kids back to in-person teaching this year, you’re no doubt a little freaked about how on Earth you’re going to keep everyone safe. While the values of in-person instruction are real, so is the Coronavirus, and as a district administrator, it’s your duty and responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy school environment. But where to begin this monumental task?
Certainly, you’re aware of the values of sanitation and social distancing and plan to implement requirements for both, but you also know that a public health crisis is, obviously, public. If your students aren’t on board with any applicable safety procedures, putting them in place becomes essentially moot.
Your school will become a disease-spreading hotbed without a willing and conscientious student body. How can you remind children to practice safety precautions?
American Student Transportation Services is here to help. As providers of school bus services and other group transportation services, we have a long history of safe driving, and also a history of providing safety training to those who desire to learn how to become a bus driver. We know a thing or two about prioritizing and enforcing safety both in our drivers and the students whom we transport. In this blog post, we’ll tell you all about how you can promote safety from the inside out and how we, with our top-notch student transportation services, are here to help with that.
What is a Safety Culture?
While no one entity can provide a concrete definition of the term, essentially, a safety culture describes how a collective entity feels about, and how seriously it takes personal and group-oriented safety. This term is often used in the construction industry—an industry in which unsafe procedures can cost a person their life. However, in the unfortunate times in which we live, we find it quite relevant to day-to-day life and, especially, public schooling.
Just as the definition of this word varies, so do the ways that your school can adapt and create a safety culture. News media can prove itself a great resource when it comes to advice on running things safely, as well as can public health officials and the CDC. It’s all about finding an approach that works for you and your student body, so don’t be afraid to research, brush up on current events, and brainstorm with other administrators.
How Can American Student Transportation Services Help Promote a Safety Culture?
Good question! We can help while your students ride our busses because we’re so used to doing so already. We’ve long prided ourselves on prioritizing the safety of anyone who comes into contact with us—pedestrians, kids, our own drivers; you name it. When it comes to the times we’re in, though, we’re prepared to up the ante on our already-thorough approach to maintaining safety.
Our attentive bus drivers keep a close eye on our children | No matter what safety procedures your district chooses to enforce, they’ll be no problem for us. We’re already used to keeping a close eye on kids—it’s part of a talented bus driver’s job, after all! We’re ready to be your ally in keeping your students safe by watching them and the road attentively.
Our relationship-oriented employees will know when something is off | Part of what has long made our company shine is our positive, on-the-ball drivers who care deeply about each child in their care. They’re bound to pick up on any child showing symptoms because they value each child on an individual basis and say hello to each individual who boards their bus. With our drivers acting as gatekeepers of sorts, your school’s learning environment will become much safer.
We value open communication and flexibility | As the global situation changes, so must safety precautions. Our company already has valued communication with our districts in the past, and just as we offer flexibility to our drivers, we do the same to our clients. We’re ready to be as mobile and as on-top-of-things as you are. Just drop us a line, and we can chat at any time! Our number-one priority is keeping students safe.
Give American Student Transportation Services a Call Now for Safety-Oriented School Bus Services
Keep your students and staff safe and sound with on-the-ball, adaptable student transportation services. Give our Blaine office a call now at 651-621-8900. We’re ready to serve you today!