Rockwood Transportation Reviews Keys to School Bus Safety Procedures Ahead of New School Year

In the days before the start of a new school year, more than 80 Rockwood school bus drivers and Transportation staff members gathered at Lafayette High on Aug. 1 to review the district’s goals and bus safety procedures.

Director of Transportation Mike Heyman and his team reviewed best practices for the school bus, general rules for their safety processes, bus inspections and the process for selecting extracurricular work such as field trips and sporting activities.

“We wanted to reiterate safety procedures with our current and new school bus drivers and revisit what they do daily,” Heyman said. “This was a refresher for the drivers and geared them up for the start of the school year.”   

Dawn Barron was among the bus drivers who heard from Heyman, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain, Chief Financial Officer Cyndee Byous, Transportation managers Mark Enger and Suzette Buchholz and trip coordinator Alejandro Lopez.

Barron is starting her 10th year in Rockwood and is eager for the start of the school year.

“I look forward to seeing my kids again,” said Barron, who serves the students and families at Pond Elementary, Rockwood Valley Middle and Lafayette High. “I consider my bus an extension of a classroom, so any opportunity for us to learn something new on the bus is nice. We talk about the weather quite a bit as well as current events. We have good conversations.”

While conversations flow effortlessly inside Barron's bus, the longtime driver focuses on safely transporting kids to and from school at all times.

“Safety on the road and safety within the bus are important to me," Barron said. "I want to make sure the kids feel comfortable and are in a safe, friendly environment when riding my bus."

Barron and her fellow bus drivers will conduct a “dry run” in the next two weeks to test their routes.

The first day of school for students is Monday, Aug. 19.