An interactive program providing training in school bus safety and awareness to Pre K– 6 students in Suffolk and Nassau County school districts.
The average elementary school-age child spends approximately 180 hours each year on a school bus. Youngsters need to know the correct way to make these trips safely.
A Bus Safety Program
Each year over 30,000 Pre K– 6 students from over thirty districts are trained in school bus safety by Eastern Suffolk BOCES to promote awareness of school bus safety. The program can accommodate classes ranging from grades Pre K– 6 with a different presentation for each level. Students are instructed in concepts such as bus stop behavior, emergency procedures, boarding and exiting, safety rules, behavioral hazards, danger zones, crossing safely, universal danger and crossing signals, bus driver’s role, student’s role, seat belt use and safe evacuation of the bus.
Visits from Safety Sally
Through Eastern Suffolk BOCES, the School Bus Safety Mobile Classroom, the only one of its kind, along with a certified teacher “Safety Sally,” is available to visit students in grades Pre K– 6. The Mobile Safety Classroom is a new state-of-the- art school bus equipped with four TV monitors, a wheelchair lift and backup camera. Basic school bus safety instruction is provided at the local school district during regular school hours. The program is a shared service and the district is state-aid reimbursed for the program. Costs are calculated on a per diem basis.
What the Program Offers Students
The Bus Safety Program provides students with:
- A video/DVD on Bus Safety presented in the Mobile Classroom
- Practice in crossing in front of the bus
- 30 minute bus visits for each class
- Demonstrations in proper seating
- Reinforcement materials for each student
- Discussions of bus danger zones
- Emergency bus drills*
* This drill fulfills one of the New York State Department of Education's mandatory bus drill requirements.
The Bus Safety Program material includes:
- School bus safety instruction for primary grades
- Bus stop behavior arriving and waiting
- Emergency procedures and equipment
- Universal danger and crossing signals
- Boarding and exiting the school bus
- Safety rules, behavior and hazards
- Danger zones and crossing safely
- Bus driver’s role
- Student’s role
- Seat belt use
How to Participate
You can obtain the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Bus Safety Program through your local school district superintendent. A request from the school district is sent to Eastern Suffolk BOCES with the number of days required for “Safety Sally” to meet with the classes in your elementary schools. A schedule of specific dates for visitations is arranged through the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Regional Transportation office.