By Carolan DiFiore
Wire Staff Writer
Blue Bell Elementary has launched the Peaceful Bus Program, which was created to transform bus riding into a much safer and more enjoyable
experience.
At the Blue Bell Elementary annual spring concert, the excitement in the air loomed as if a rock star had walked into the room. However, the students’ surprised, happy faces were not the result of a celebrity’s unexpected appearance.
The woman making the special appearance was their bus driver.
“The kids were thrilled,” said Blue Bell Elementary School Principal Denise Fagan. “The fact that she took time out of her own life to come to their concert really meant a lot to them.”
This past year, the school launched the Peaceful Bus Program, which was created to transform bus riding into a much safer and more enjoyable experience.
“We decided to pilot the Peaceful Bus Program because school buses are one of the areas where bullying takes place,” Fagan said.
Data collected by the U.S. Department of Education suggests that school buses serve as a setting for as much as 10 percent of all bullying incidents in the country.
However, this is no ordinary anti-bullying campaign, Blue Bell Librarian Dr. Lisa Ruff explained.
“This is not a discipline program; rather, we want to create a positive social dynamic on the bus,” she said.
The Peaceful Bus Program stems from a nationally known program called Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which is used to train the entire staff at Blue Bell. This fall marks the third year of the school using Olweus.
After attending a booster training session and hearing about the Peaceful Bus Program, Ruff, along with Phyllis Burke, the school’s guidance counselor, took the reins.
“They were the leaders who put this into place and really made it happen,” Fagan said.
“We really believed this was something that should be implemented into our school,” added Ruff, who actually rode on the bus several times a week with students, giving her a chance to get to know the students in a new way. “We do a lot of team-building activities; the kids got to know one another as well as their bus drivers. Each bus received their own name; their own identity.”
The Peaceful Bus Program was launched at Blue Bell Elementary near the end of 2012 and stresses that the bus is just as much a school environment as the actual school building. Blue Bell is the only elementary school in the Wissahickon School District to adopt the program.
“A lot of kids when they’re on the bus think, ‘I’m on the bus. I don’t have to listen to the rules,’” Fagan said. “We started this program to work on reestablishing the simple rules on the bus that keep the children safe.”
Initially, there was some backlash from students.
“Some of the students didn’t like it at first,” Fagan explained. “They liked running around the bus and having that freedom. That was time they could get away with more.”
That did not thwart the efforts of the administration, however, which persisted until the program was eventually embraced by students, many of whom were already uncomfortable with riding the bus to and from school everyday.
Some of the younger students who were afraid of riding the bus were paired with older students who served as guardians.
“The older students would read to them to distract them from any fears they may have,” Fagan said. “All of a sudden, they didn’t need the books; they were sitting and chatting. They were finally able to make the leap to finally be able to ride the bus on their own.”
Now that the pilot year has come and gone, there are even higher expectations for the fall.
“It is a work in progress,” said Burke, “we’re hoping to see a lot more community-based behavior, people looking out for each other.”
When asked to grade the program during its first year, Fagan said that while the framework of the program is good, the program could still use a bit of fine-tuning.
“I’d give it a B-,” Fagan said. “We’re on a learning curve.”
Carolan DiFiore can be reached at cdifiore@bsmphilly.com
