Bullying Awareness ON The SCHOOL BUS

1. Bullying AwarenessONThe SCHOOL BUS Tammy Minkin, Team Leader LCPS Transportation Training September 11, 2013

2. Topics & Information we will cover: • A sampling of the training our School Bus Drivers & Bus Attendants receive on ways to respond to bullying on their buses. • Specific signs of school bus bullying and how to recognize them. • Steps to help the bully, the bullied and their families.

3. General Information about Bullying: • It is a form of discrimination and it’s degrading. • It’s not always “one-way”. Sometimes, the students are abusing each other. • It is a common misconception that bullies are loners with no friends. Conversely, they are often quite popular and confident. • Children bullied on the bus might not be able to function and focus appropriately in the classroom, where they spend the majority of their school day. That same behavior can spill over into all areas of their lives.

4. Some Reasons People are Bullied: • Race • Ethnicity • Religion • Skin Color • Speech/Language • Financial Status • Fashion Style • Gender and Gender Preference • Physical appearance • Academic or Physical Abilities/Disabilities

5. School Buses have the 2nd highest incidences of bullying overall. (The playground is #1.) • This statistic is from the organization Bully Buzz, a national bullying intervention and empowerment program started by Quintana Strange, a California mother of two children who were bullied. • It can be easy to be a bully on the bus. As an example, a general education bus has one Driver who is focusing on safely driving the bus with up to 60 students or more on board. It’s no easy task to drive a 32,000 lbs. School Bus safely down the road PLUS keep an eye on the Students behind you that you are transporting. • In comparison to a classroom, a bus is a small enclosed space where a victim has no place to get away.

6. Drivers and Attendantscan & DO make a difference! • The National Center for Education, Evaluation and Regional Assistance reports that of the more than 550,000 School Bus Drivers in this country, 52.2% believe bullying is a serious problem on their buses, but two-thirds of the incidents are never reported, especially when Students are at higher grade levels. • On average 160,000Students nationwide miss school every day due to the fear of being attacked or intimidated by a bully. • In order to prevent and stop bullying on our buses, we must each make a conscious decision to get involved and get invested in the Students we are transporting!

7. Students need to know you are a safe, approachable person To whomThey Can TALK. • The students need to be able to trust you! • Some ways you can achieve this goal: • Communicate the fact that there is zero tolerance for bullying and all other types of unkindness and rude behavior on your bus. • Encourage Students to tell you if they, or someone else, on the bus is being bullied. • Let your Students know that it’s smart to ask for helpand you are a safe person to tell.

8. Actions we take to deter and report Bullying on the Bus: • If at all possible, we attempt to diffuse the situation before it can escalate. If necessary, we will stop the bus in a safe location to talk with the Students, contact the Dispatch Center to ask that a Supervisor meet us at the bus, or if it absolutely necessary, request help from law enforcement. • Often it is best to move the victimized child toward the front of the bus, near the Driver, only if the Student is comfortable doing so. Sometimes, it is better to move the bully to the front of the bus. Each situation is unique. • We document the event on an Incident Report, give it to our Lead Driver, who in turn passes it on to the school that the bully/bullied Students attend. We do not handle disciplinary actions ourselves. That responsibility lies with the school’s administration. It is our job to ensure that information is given to our Supervisors. In most cases, the school administration will ask to see the recording from our on-board cameras.

9. WHAT CAN WE ALL DO? • BE PRESENT & PAY ATTENTION. • We all need to pay attention and truly listen what the kids are telling us. Listen between the lines. There are many non-verbal signs children display when something is wrong in their lives. • We need to act on what we hear and what we see because bullying does not end just because an adult has been told. • If we don’t address the issue, or just plainly ignore it, we are betraying the trust of those same Students for whom we have promised to be a safe person. The same goes for parents.

10. Signs that your child isbeing bullied on the Bus: • They are afraid to ride the bus to school. • They persistently and deliberately make themselves late for the bus in the morning so they have to be driven to school. • Asks for a ride to school or asks if they can ride with a friend or friend’s parent. • They may have bruising or other signs of physical abuse that has not been reported to you by school administration. • A normally happy child could become sullen, quiet and withdrawn. • A child that tends to be quiet could begin to act out aggressively and angrily. • They could develop migraine headaches. (Not bus-specific.)

11. WHAT IF MY CHILD IS THE BULLY?HOW CAN I KNOW & WHAT can I do? • Children who bully tend have average to above average self-esteem! • They may also tend to have a quick temper, a lack of empathy, difficulty conforming to rules. • They often get into fights and get injured, vandalize property, steal, consume alcohol, smoke, skip school and other negative behaviors. Steps for addressing the situation: • Work with the school administration and Transportation to resolve any issues your child may have with another that is causing them to bullying someone else. • Be clear with your child that this behavior will not be tolerated anywhere and create reasonable, appropriate consequences for their negative behavior. • Set a good example yourself. For example, control your road rage or your temper in general. Children mimic what they hear & what they see…especially at home!

12. Both the Bully and the Bullied Needour time and Attention. • See Something, Say Something. • That applies to bullying as well as many other aspects of our daily lives. • Stress to your child that it is SMART to say something when they or someone else is being bullied. No one deserves that treatment and often victims are afraid to speak up for themselves. • Be sure to act on what YOUhear or see. It sets a great example and begins the process to stop bullying. • Don’t you or your child give up hope that things can and will change! Knowledge paired with action gives us all power to put an end to bullying… one incident at a time.

13. And, as we say tell our School Bus Drivers & Bus Attendants to share with their Students… Be kind to one another. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be a Role Model to the Students you so carefully transport every school day!