Improving School Climate: The Bus
A positive school climate is essential for students’ learning and academic achievement. This series explores how the SECOND STEP and STEPS TO RESPECT programs can improve the climate of a school’s “problem areas”—the playground, lunchroom, and bus—and gives you practical tips to get started on making these areas safer.
Assessing the Situation
Before you can start solving the problem, you’ll need to get a baseline idea of the situation. What kinds of things are happening on the bus—both good and bad—and to what degree? The STEPS TO RESPECT Program Guide features worksheets to help guide you through this process.
If you’re going to assess the environment of a school bus, it’s best to have an adult ride it with the kids, preferably more than once. Have the adult sit quietly in the back of the bus and bring a pen and paper to jot down impressions about noise, mess, how students sit (or don’t sit) in their seats, and how they manage (or don’t manage) their belongings. The adult should watch how they interact: do they refuse to let others sit in specific places, call each other names, or show physical aggression? If you are concerned that the kids won’t behave as they normally would because they know they’re being watched, make sure the adults riding the bus are as unobtrusive as possible and not people who are perceived as direct authority figures (such as teachers or the principal). The kids may still behave differently, but they might feel less like they’re being spied on or graded if the adult in the back of the bus isn’t a teacher.
Next, sketch out a map or floor plan of the bus, noting hazardous features, locations that provide opportunities for bullying, and visual barriers to supervision.
Then survey students and staff (including all bus drivers) to find out their perceptions and concerns about the bus environment.
Rules for the Bus
Once you have a clearer idea of the situation, you can start to work on solutions. With the help of students, drivers, and other staff, develop a short, simple list of behavioral expectations for the bus. Try to use positive wording. For example, “Use your inside voice” instead of “no yelling.” To get you started, here are the bus rules from Chautauqua Elementary School in Vashon, WA:
- Sit properly in your seat. (This includes facing forward with back against seat and feet flat on floor.)
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
- Use inside voices.
- Respect the environment. (This includes not eating, drawing on seats, picking at holes, or throwing papers on the ground.)
Post several copies of the rules in large, easy-to-read lettering in each bus, and invite the bus drivers to class to present the rules for the first time. Establish awards for best bus behavior, and have the bus drivers present them.
Supervision on the Bus
If you are using the STEPS TO RESPECT program, make sure that all bus drivers receive STEPS TO RESPECT training in receiving bullying reports. Not only will they be better equipped to handle bus behavior, but students will trust the drivers more and the school population will share a common vocabulary that can improve the climate for everyone.
