Peaceful School Bus Program

Peaceful School Bus Program was developed by an elementary school principal and a certified trainer of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Like OBPP, the Peaceful School Bus Program isn't a curriculum or a discipline program, nor is it a training program for bus drivers. It is a whole-school program that's designed to decrease inappropriate behavior on buses while creating a climate of respect and cooperation. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students take part in school bus route meetings. At these meetings the students: take part in team-building exercises; develop mentoring relationships by pairing older students with younger students on the bus; talk about bullying - and what behavior is and is not acceptable; and, get to personally know their driver, who is present at the meetings.Although first developed and implemented in an elementary school setting, the program can be adapted for use with middle school and even high-school students, who can serve as mentors, role models, and teachers of younger students.Peaceful School Bus Program was created in the real-world setting of Lynnwood Elementary School in upstate New York. In the year before the program was implemented, school bus drivers reported 58 incidents of inappropriate behavior. The program has been in place for 7 years. In each of the past 4 years, the average yearly total of bus incident referrals has been nine.There is very little financial cost to implementing the Peaceful School Bus Program. All materials are included in the guide. Also included is a 15-minute DVD that gives a program overview. The CD-ROM provides numerous resources including: program posters, bus decals, activity handouts, a parent letter (in English and Spanish), a bus route leader-training outline, and an implementation checklist.