COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kids' safety was the top priority at a training for Richland County School District Two. On Monday, 230 bus drivers from the district attended a training at Spring Valley High School
"A trained bus driver is a safe bus driver," said South Carolina School Bus Safety Coordinator Sergeant Matt Southern.
The session covered a variety of topics, including why it’s important to stop at railroads, how to safely evacuate, what drivers can do to prevent collisions and what protocol there is in case of a bus intruder.
"We want to make sure that we’re hitting on bus driver safety today to make sure that when we get ready to pick up kids here in a couple weeks when school starts back that they’re ready to go, that they’re keeping kids safe every s ingle day," Southern said.
This is a part of what required ‘in-service training’. Bus drivers in the state need at least 10 hours of this training each year to keep their certification. Monday's session will go toward those hours.
"This training is very important because it helps to keep bus drivers safe, but it also works to keep students that ride that bus safe every single day," Southern said.
Sharon Chisolm was named the district’s 2021-22 school bus driver of the year. She has attended similar training sessions in the past, which she says is always filled with good information.
"Everything that’s gone over in training is always helpful because it’s always a refresher for us," she said. "Especially the ones that have been here so many years."
She said the children's safety is always at the top of the list.
"What we do is make sure that we’re getting our kids there safely to their destination and bringing them home to their parents safely," she said. "So that’s basically the biggest thing that I’ve always taken from these in-services is about the safety issue."
Chisolm said often, the drivers don't need to implement the skills and techniques they learn. What matters, however, is that they're prepared with the knowledge in case of an emergency.
"Nothing that you’re going over you may have to use - we hope we don’t - but in these cases and circumstances that happen you may have to use that," she said. "So at least you know what to do."
For Chisolm , it’s about more than just being a bus driver.
"I love what I do and I love how I interact with other kids," she said. "Like they say, we’re the first thing they see in the morning and we’re the last thing they see in the afternoon."
Even if you aren’t a bus driver, you can still help keep kids safe. When you see a school bus, Southern says you need to pay attention.
"We’ve got to respect this yellow bus," he said. "It has the ability to regulate traffic on the roadway with those flashing lights and the stop sign."
Students in Richland County School District Two will be loaded these buses and heading back into the classroom on August 17.