National School Bus Safety Week in Montana

HELENA — Helena Public Schools administrators are loading onto school buses this week to see what students do every day at school as part of National School Bus Safety Week.

“For safety reasons, to see how our children behave in different situations. They behave differently in the classroom than they do outside, during breaks, and then in the dining room. Seeing all adults work together to help us get our children to and from school is important,” said Sarah Simpson, principal of Smith Elementary School in Helena.

She boarded a school bus with about 20 students to watch them start and end the school day.

“The day starts with a day off. Children leave home and then come to school. “I’m just meeting that basic need, the relationship they need to have with their kids so they feel safe and know ‘I’m going back to school,'” Simpson said. “Also on the way home 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 sides is really important.”

Simpson says that of Smith Elementary’s 285 students, 60 to 70 of them ride the bus.

Helena Public Schools uses First Student for bus services, and the district claims to be 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 standing and are synchronized with GPS systems.

Students scan their IDs when getting on and off the bus, and parents can track where the bus is.

“Parents love it, especially if they have really little kids or maybe they’re walking to the bus stop themselves. Then they can see if their child got on the bus and what time they got off, so they know what time they should go home,” said Bevann Hamill, location manager at First Student.

Helena was the first city in Montana to require seat belts on school buses, and the first two rows have booster seats for children under 60 pounds.

Each bus has eight high-resolution cameras with night vision inside and outside.

Hamill said: “We have a lot of people trying to overtake the bus. They see the yellow light come on and they go faster instead of slowing down.”

Exterior cameras capture clear images of these vehicles, including the license plate, and the school district sends them to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP).

A First Student representative estimates that approximately 85% of photos submitted to MHP result in tickets.

Remember that you can help keep students safe when riding the bus by being especially careful around school zones and when stopping for school buses.