LAKELAND - It’s important for kids to use safe practices while travelling back and forth from school on the bus. Each year, Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) teaches its students the basics of bus safety through the rideSAFE program.
Nicole Garner, a spokesperson for NLPS, said topics that are taught in the rideSAFE program-which is administered by the public school division-include general school bus safety, rider responsibilities, basic, rules as well how to evacuate busses in the event of an emergency.
The program has been quite popular with students and is getting the message across about bus safety.
“The students love the program, and we have heard that some students feel more comfortable riding the bus after taking part,” Garner told Lakeland This Week.
Garner continued by saying that while the RideSafe program is done every year, it doesn’t necessarily go to every location during the school year.
According to Garner, at the present time, the school division is in the process of training additional people to be able to deliver the programming so that it can be offered in more schools on a consistent basis.
While any time of the year is right for students to be educated about what to do and what not to do while travelling as passengers on the school bus, NLPS officials prefer to host rideSAFE sessions during the fall months.
Fall and spring, Garner said, are ideal times as the weather is nicer, and the program involves practicing a bus evacuation.
“We usually do it in the fall to coincide with Bus Safety Week in October and to reinforce safety messaging early in the year, but it can be offered at any time,” she said.