The Wheels On The Bus Say: PBIS

Does your school have difficulty with student behavior on the bus? Do your drivers feel like they are on Survivor and are about to be voted off the island any day now? PBIS, or Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, can be used with your bus drivers and students to make the ride to and from school a calmer experience. Christiana Elementary has piloted strategies to strengthen relationships and increase the safety of the ride.

In the beginning…During the 2016-2017 school year Rutherford County Schools piloted a RTI2-B or Response to Instruction & Intervention-Behavior, program with Vanderbilt University’s Tennessee Behavior Support Project. Christiana Elementary (CES) was one of nine schools to receive specialized training in positive behavior support strategies in the initial cohort.

Hearing their voicesOne of our first steps was to survey students and staff. One of the areas that both groups felt we could use more work was on the bus. It was then that we created our Bus Behavior Council. We created invitations and invited drivers to a First Annual Bus Behavior Council & Breakfast event. The transportation supervisor was also invited to attend. The school parent advisory committee (PAC) partnered with us to provide breakfast for the drivers and decorate the cafeteria to give it a welcoming feel.

On the day of the breakfast, approximately half of the school’s drivers attended. We began our meeting by sharing with them our behavior plan. Up until this point the drivers had not been included in the communication about the changes being made and the expectations the staff had for student behavior. The drivers, very understandably, felt like they were cut off from the school. We had voted them off the island and didn’t even realize it!

Creating an economyDrivers were provided bus bucks, a copy of our bus PBIS lesson plans, and our expectations poster for them to post on the bus. We opened up the floor for questions and walked drivers through positive behavior strategies. It was wonderful to watch as drivers shared with each other strategies on building relationships with their families.

Bus bucks were a new strategy for our drivers. Dr. Krystal Kennedy from Tennessee Tech University was our expert in this area. She shared the idea of bus bucks with our school. They are small coupons that the drivers carry on the bus. When the driver catches a student following an expectation, they hand a bus buck to the student as they exit the bus at the end of the ride. The drivers briefly tell the student exactly what the student did to earn the buck. “Sally, I saw that you were seated the entire ride with your hands and feet out of the aisle. Great job.” Behavior specific praise paired with the use of the student’s name is a powerful strategy. The student turns the bus buck into their homeroom teacher, who then rewards the student with a point on Class Dojo. Drivers had shared in our meeting that students did not see the connection between the bus and school.

Rewarding the behaviorAt the end of each week the bus bucks go into a school-wide drawing for the Bus Rider of the Week. That student’s name is posted in our school-wide PowerPoint that plays throughout the day on monitors around the school. At the end of the month we hold a drawing for a Bus Rider of the Month. That student receives a free ice cream from the cafeteria.

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Every Friday a staff member from the RTI2-B Team talks with each driver for our Thumbs Up program. In the lobby we have posted little buses labeled with each bus number. We ask each driver “Was this week a thumb up or a thumb down?”. A thumb up is given by the driver if a majority of the students followed the expectations that week. If the bus receives a thumb up, a smiley face is drawn in a bus window. At the end of the month the buses with the highest number of smiley faces is put into a drawing for Bus Rider of the Month. At the end of the year we draw for a Bus Rider of the Year. This student is recognized at the end of the year award ceremony.

Are we on the same team?It is equally important for the school to build relationships with the bus drivers. Every month the bus drivers are put into a drawing for Bus of the Month. The driver is presented with flowers, a small gift card, and a card. Their picture is taken and shared on social media. The students on their bus win one homework pass that the bus driver passes out. At the end of the year the winners from throughout the year (drivers and students) are put into a drawing for Bus of the Year.

Helping students realize that buses are an extension of the school day can be a difficult experience, but there are strategies out there. Bus bucks, Bus of the Month, and behavior specific praise are just a few of the ways to help your bus ride become a calmer one.