All districts — When a mock assailant started shooting a Nerf gun at those on the school bus, Cleo Diaz’s natural instincts kicked in. She stood up and confronted the shooter.
“I’m someone who is overprotective of our kids and older population,” Diaz explained later. “I don’t want to see anyone hurting our children.”
Diaz, a bus attendant for Dean Transportation, was one of about 170 bus drivers, attendants and educators who attended a Proactive Response Training for bus drivers. The one-day training, created by West Shore Educational Service District, is designed to show how to prevent, avoid and deal with unexpected violence and threats.
“The goal is for bus drivers to feel empowered to make a decision; whether it is right, wrong or indifferent, they are doing something to protect our kids,” said Katrina Morris, West Shore ESD transportation director who helped develop the program following a 2020 Alabama incident where a bus driver was shot and killed and a 5-year-old was kidnapped.
Region 1 Emergency Coordinator John Wittkowsi said when it comes to safety and security training, bus drivers often get overlooked. Through the training, drivers learn needed skills in de-escalation along with feeling comfortable with and addressing various situations.
Learning to Use What You Have
Wittkowski said there have been no reports of serious incidents on school buses serving Kent County. While several of those in attendance said they have not had a violent situation such as an active shooter, they have faced angry parents, disruptive students and even non-students attempting to board buses.
“It can be very disconcerting when you have a person yelling at you,” said Tom Diepstra, a driver for Dean Transportation, who recounted when a parent stepped on his bus, angry that her vehicle was penned in the bus lane. “It’s kind of scary, because you are not sure what she is going to do.”
In 2021, the Michigan legislature added to the Michigan Vehicle Code that “no one shall enter the bus without the permission of the bus driver.” Doing so could result in a $500 fine, Morris said, adding that many districts have affixed stickers to their buses with that stated.
But a sticker alone may not prevent unauthorized people from getting on a school bus. Last year, a non-student attempted to board a bus at the Kent Career Tech Center in order to flee law enforcement. The situation was resolved without incident, Wittkowski said.
That incident is what spurred Amy Albert, who works at the Tech Center West, to attend the Proactive Response Training.
“I felt someone in the building should know what the bus drivers are going through,” she said.
Albert said the training gave her a different perspective on how to handle and de-escalate high-risk situations, along with a greater appreciation for what bus drivers do.
She portrayed the first “assailant” who boarded the bus and randomly began “shooting” with a Nerf gun. Those on the bus were told to just sit there so participants could understand how it feels to do nothing, said David Barnett of the Mason County Sheriff’s Department.
“We want you to be able to work within your environment,” he said to the group. “What are things you could do? What do you have on your bus that you could use?”
The group went through four different scenarios, each giving participants a chance to see what options they might have to block exits and distract a shooter.
“You are trying to buy time so that law enforcement can get to you,” Barnett said.
Through the scenarios, participants learned how to use a shoe to prevent someone from boarding the bus through the emergency exit. They also talked about piling book bags in front of the door.
Barnett said drivers should encourage students to throw books and items at an assailant to try to distract them. In one scenario where the group did that, the person portraying the assailant said she got so distracted she jammed the Nerf gun.
Building Relationships & Being Aware
“It’s crappy that I have to have this type of conversation with bus drivers,” Barnett said. “But you have to be seeing and be aware of your students. You have to develop good relationships with them, and if you are in situation you have to be able to think ‘What can I do to help and protect my kids?’”
Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Summerhays said bus drivers need to know how to handle tough situations. He has done some training with drivers in the Lowell Area Schools district where he is the resource officer.
Wittkoski said organizers for the Proactive Response Training hope this will encourage other schools to provide more training to their transportation teams.
“It has been very helpful,” said Sandy Cheeseman, a driver for Dean Transportation at Kentwood Public Schools. “I think the possible scenarios were definitely an eye-opener as to how quickly things unfold and how you have to be thinking before it even starts.”
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