The district pays these teachers, in part, from money saved by not having to hire bus company monitors.

“Training” bus drivers

Bus drivers who don’t have specialized training can learn behavior management skills from certified teachers. “It’s easy to transfer that training to the bus by showing the drivers the tricks of the trade on how to get students to behave,” says Davies. For example, teachers in class get their students’ attention by saying “Class, class, class,” and the students respond by repeating it back. Now, drivers do the same by saying, “Bus, bus, bus.”

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“These gimmicks may seem normal to a teacher, but drivers are unfamiliar with them,” says Davies.

Reward system

Bus drivers have also adopted some reinforcement techniques from elementary schools. “Our mascot is a bulldog, so we award ‘biscuits’ and ‘barkouts’ to students who do something positive,” says Davies. “This gives students an incentive to control their behavior.” Students who collect enough biscuits or barkouts can win prizes, such as having a wacky dress-up day or a party at lunchtime.

Instant Insights /

West York Area School District pursues bus routing and positive behavior support system

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