HELENA — Helena Public Schools administrators are loading onto school buses this week to experience what students do every school day for National School Bus Safety Week.
"For safety purposes, to see how our kids behave in all different settings. They behave differently in the classroom than they do outside at recess and then in the lunchroom. Seeing all of the adults work together on how we get our kids to and from school is important," said Sarah Simpson, the principal of Smith Elementary School in Helena.
She hopped on a school bus with roughly 20 students to see how they start and end their school day.
"It starts their day off. The kids leave their homes, and then they arrive at school. Just tending to that basic need, the relationship that they need to have with the kids so the kids feel safe, secure, and know that they're getting to school," Simpson said. "On their way home, too, knowing that someone will be at the bus stop to pick them up or when they get home. That friendly smile and that relationship on both ends is really important."
Simpson says that of the 285 students at Smith Elementary, between 60 and 70 of them ride the bus.
Helena Public Schools uses First Student for busing services, and the district says it is a national leader in school bus safety.
It was one of the first school districts to use "Edulog" tablets, replacing paper maps and onboarding and offboarding lists.
The tablets can only be used when the bus is stopped, and they are synced with GPS systems.
Students scan ID cards when getting on and off the bus, and parents can track where the bus is.
"Parents absolutely love it, especially when they've got real little ones, and maybe they go to a bus stop by themselves. Then they can see that their child got on the bus and what time they got off the bus, so they know what time they should be home," said Bevann Hamill, location manager for First Student.
Helena was the first city in Montana to require school bus seat belts, and the first two rows have booster seats for children under 60 pounds.
Each bus has eight high-definition cameras with night vision inside and outside.
Hamill said, "We do have a lot of people who try to beat the bus. They see the yellows come on, and they drive faster rather than slow down."
The outside cameras capture a clear image of those vehicles, including a license plate, and the school district sends them to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP).
A representative from First Student estimates that about 85% of the images sent to MHP result in tickets.
Remember, you can do your part to keep students who ride the bus safe by being extra cautious around school zones and stopping for school buses.
