Student Management & Prevention of Bullying

Jeff Cassell, President School Bus Safety Company

16th November 2011 1

Presentation

• Mute your phones please

• Type questions

• Ask questions at the end

• Type comments

• Jeff Cassell credentials

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Support of School Bus Safety week

• Ways to stop Danger Zones accidents

• This presentation

• Six of top eight contractors

• 690 school districts

• Adding 1,500 more school districts from 1/1/2012

• Over 3,000 districts have our Danger Zones program representing almost 300,000 school buses.

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Daily Prayer

• Please help me remember to watch all five mirrors, two dozen windows, eight gauges, six warning lights, six dozen faces, three lanes of traffic, wobbling bicycles, daydreaming pedestrians, teenagers with headsets and all other vehicles.

• Help me to hear train whistles, truck and car horns, police sirens and the two way radio.

• Please help me recognize when my passengers need help and have the patience to listen and respond to their issues.

• I need help to operate the gear lever, the steering wheel, the turn signals, the route book, the radio and the door while still being able to respond to the kids needs.

• I need the patience and self control to stop Mark hitting Brian, prevent Linda from walking in the aisles and making sure no one puts their head out of the window.

• Finally, Lord, please help me do this all again tomorrow. 4

Students Want

• To be recognized

• To be accepted by their peers

• To hang out with the cool guys

• To feel in control

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Students do not want

• To be excluded

• To be seen as being dominated by the driver

• To be laughed at

• To be teased

• To be bullied

• To be treated with disdain

• To be embarrassed

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The goal is

• Cooperation & Understanding

• Driver is not automatically the leader

• Set expectations

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The Driver Needs

• Authority / Recognition

• To be treated with respect

• Must be based on “Mutual Respect”

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Teamwork

• Not alone – involve supervisor, teachers, school officials & parents

• Seek advice from supervisor or other drivers

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Mmmmm

“You will be successful in getting students to control their

behavior if you first control your own behavior.”

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How do you get respect?

• Set expectations Go over the rules at the start of the year

• Say why the rules exist & why they are important

• Mention the consequences of breaking the rules

• Apply the Rules Firm Fair Consistent

• Never get Emotional or Angry – you are doing your job

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How do you get respect?

• Try not to overreact or under react

• Only enforce reasonable standards

• Do not “cry wolf”

• Greet students by name and with a smile, eye contact or a nod every day

• Speak with authority

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Firm

• Speak with authority, slowly and positive

• Do not debate or argue, this is what will be

• Do not be rude, nasty or demeaning – show respect

• Try not to corner the student, leave them with a respectful out

• Stay calm, do not get emotional, have a serious face

• De-personalize “I am required to ask you to stop this behavior”

• Stand up tall and look student in the eye

• Brief & to the point, do not give reasons

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Firm

• Again, de-personalize.

• Provide a choice

• If they do not stop, follow through

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Fair

• Be objective

• Apply actions fairly to everyone

• No favoritism

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Consistent

• Apply same rules all the time, to everyone

• Do not have different standards based on your moods or a headache

• If students argue consistency, do not debate this, stay firm and apply the rules

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Respect

• No favoritism – always be fair

• Do not be a pushover – do not back down

• When you ask a student to do something – don’t argue, debate or discuss. If you do you reinforce their behavior

• Do not play the students game

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Example of bus rules

• Be at the stop on time, do not be late

• Never run after the bus & never bang on side of the bus

• Stand away from the road

• No fighting, pushing or games anywhere near the bus stop

• When bus pulls up, wait in an orderly fashion.

• Board the bus in an orderly fashion, no pushing or shoving

• If you drop anything near or under the bus, tell the driver and ask them for directions to retrieve it.

At the Bus Stop

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Example of bus rules

• Stay seated in the seat – no standing

• Put your book bags under the seat in front of you

• No fighting, pushing or shoving of any kind

• No bullying, teasing or picking on any other student

• No physical contact, sexual or otherwise (age)

• NEVER put your hands or heads out of the windows

• Keep noise to reasonable levels, no shouting

• Be extra quiet at railroad crossings

• Do not distract the driver when they are driving

• Do not write on or damage the seats in any way

• Do not drop or leave litter

On The Bus

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Example of bus rules

• Do not stand up until the bus has stopped

• Leave the bus in an orderly way – no pushing or shoving

• Take all your belongings with you

• Walk 10’ away from the bus, before turning left or right

• If you have to cross the street, walk beyond the crossing gate and wait for driver to indicate to cross. Stop at the end of the bus width, look left & right & cross if clear.

• NEVER go inside the crossing gate for any reason

• If you drop anything near or under the bus, tell the driver and ask them for directions to retrieve it.

• There will be NO unauthorized drops, ever. Only exit the bus at your assigned stop

• Never cross behind the bus

As you leave the Bus

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Most Important rules to go over

• Never go inside crossing gate

• Never pick up anything near or under the bus

• Never run after bus – will be sent home

• No arms or heads outside windows

• No fighting, pushing or active playing, as the bus arrives

• Remove any draw strings

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Ask for help – not tell

• “My job is to get you all to and from school safely – I need your help”

• “We are all in this together”

• Tell them why we have the rules

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More Tips

• Positive Relationship – learn names & use them

• Never ignore a problem – this means you cannot handle it

• Treat students with respect – sometimes make them feel important

• Dress for respect – keep bus clean and orderly

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Addressing a Problem

• Not through mirror while driving

• Focus on the issue

• If requires more than a glance or a few words – pull over

• Do not make the student feel small or put down

• If you can, counsel one on one, away from other students

• Ask to stay behind after others leave the bus, at the school

• Ideally have another driver or teacher present. Ask for their help in fixing the problem.

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Spotlight Technique

• Use their name, look directly at them and ask them why they are acting as they are

• Tell them what they are expected to do – “Ben you are expected to take your seat”

• Present the consequences – “Ben, the bus will not move until you come up front”

• Repeat the consequences – “Ben, the bus will……”

• “Ben, you have a decision to make you can stop teasing & hitting or I will write this up, and the school and your parents will then be involved”

• Next time you see them, greet them nicely – no animosity 25

Persistent Question Method

• Call attention to them – “John, what are you doing?”

• “John, is this something you should be doing?”

• “John, what will happen to you if you do not stop doing this?”

• Asking questions, makes them think

• Introduce choices – “John, you have a choice – Stop teasing or we will advise the school and your parents of this problem – what would you like to do?”

• Stay calm, do not be confrontational 26

Broken Record Technique

• Repeat request over & over until met

• Ignore if they talk back or argue

• Stay cool & calm and repeat request over & over

• Once they see you will not give in, they will usually comply

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Never issue Challenges or Ultimatums

• Take “I” out of it - Never “I’ll make you sit down”

• “You’ll be required to sit down”

• Never offer threats – “Do this or else”

• “Dave, you are required to sit down and act properly or you will be required to move up front away from the distractions”

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More Thoughts

• Never ignore a problem - this says I cannot handle you

• Do not try to act like the students, you are not a peer and you will lose leadership

• Enforce consequences – rules without consequences are just suggestions. You must follow through

• Shouting or getting emotional shows you have lost control

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Special Needs

• Pay special attention - make sure not being teased in any way

• Try never to allow special needs students to be last person dropped

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• The second highest location for bullying is on the school bus.

• Recognize when bullying is taking place. If in doubt, ask.

• If you are suspicious, ask a student who is not involved but sits close to those who are.

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Bullying

• Know the difference between conflict & bullying –

Conflict = Parties are equal One time event

Bullying = Aggressive behavior causing harm Imbalance of power Repeated over time

• Set the rules at the start of the year. Tell the students that bullying and teasing are unacceptable on the school bus. Provide some examples of what is not acceptable.

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Bullying

Bullying

• If required, pull over and stop

• If fighting – say loud and clear “Stop fighting or I will call the police” If do not stop, call the police

• Never touch the student or try to separate them

• Give clear direction that any bullying or teasing is to stop

• If continues, move one of the students to seat close to the driver

• Enforce the consequences – always take action

• Always document the problem and what you did – give copies to your supervisor and school officials

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“STOP FIGHTING OR I WILL CALL THE POLICE”

• Tell the bully you are going to report them to the school

• Pay close attention to children with Special Needs – make sure they are never bullied

• Stay professional - never get angry & shout

• Never allow angry parents on the bus

• If parents do get on the bus, despite your direction not to, call the police for help

• If you are unsure how to deal with a bullying issue – discuss with your supervisor or other drivers – get help

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Bullying

Progressive Discipline – Four step Approach

• 1st Infraction – Verbal Warning

• 2nd infraction – Issue 2nd warning & ask school to notify the parents of the incident

• 3rd infraction – Issue 3rd warning & recommend riding be suspended until school has a meeting with the parents

• 4th infraction – recommend temporary or permanent removal from bus – case by case basis to be decided by school officials

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Each District has own

rules

Crisis Situation

• Buy Time – Allow situation to calm down

• Ask what they want - use their name & obey them

• Listen to them – let them talk

• DO NOT try to overcome them

• Time is good – be cooperative

• Never confront or antagonize

• Don’t ask “why” questions

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Written Reports

• Other than a short verbal warning, document all discipline problems.

• Do not ignore a problem until it escalates

• Write up on same day

• Date, time, what happened, student name, drivers name, bus #, supervisors name and any other comments (how reacted)

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Fights

• Order the students to stop

• Tell other students to back away & quiet down

• If students continue, radio for urgent police help

• Do not join in, try to pull students away or get in the middle of them

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Finally

• NEVER grab, hit or touch a child under any circumstances. It is illegal and against district rules

• If circumstance is escalating and you are losing control – radio for help

• If you have a problem child, ask supervisor or other drivers for advice

• If you see a student has a weapon, do nothing until they leave the bus, then tell your supervisor

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Last Points

• The quality of the training – we are biased

• Time taken to train – “free is not free”

• Professionals deserve the best training

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Comments and Questions

• Does this make sense?

• Are there any other comments?

• Are there any questions?

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For more information, visit www.schoolbussafetyco.com or call 1 866 275 7272