Getting To & From School - Safety Tips
Student safety is a top priority for the Central Valley School District. The following information is provided to parents as a guide for planning to get students safely to and from school.
Walking and Bicycling Safety Tips
- Plan ahead for how your child will get to and from school
- Identify a walking or bicycling route for your child
- Choose a route with the fewest busy roads and intersections
- Select routes where there are sidewalks or paths separated from traffic, if possible; if there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic to be able to see cars coming and stay as far out of the roadway as possible
- Know where the school crossing guards are located (for elementary students) and include these locations in your route planning
- Do a trial run. Practice walking the route to and from school several times before the first day of school, including how to safely cross streets
- Teach your child to follow the traffic signs and signals related to pedestrians and bicycles
- Identify any safe houses or buildings (fire stations, etc) along the route as well as places to avoid such as vacant lots, construction areas and parks without many people
- Go over basic safety rules with children. Make sure your child memorizes their full address and phone number. Write down your work and cell phone on a card for your children to carry with them.
- Encourage children to walk with a friend or sibling or even "walking school buses" to gather groups of students together to travel to and from school.
- If your child will be riding a bicycle to and from school, always wear a helmet that is properly fitted and secured. Ride along with traffic (not facing traffic).
Bus Stop Safety Tips
- Arrive at the bus stop five minutes early. Rushing often leads to carelessness.
- Wear bright colors or put reflective tape on backpacks to increase visibility.
- Take five giant steps back from the curb, which is in the driver's line of vision.
- Pack all belongings in appropriate bags so hands are free to grab the safety rail inside the bus.
- Make sure clothes and backpacks don't have hanging straps or strings that may become snagged in the vehicle.
- Wait until the bus stops completely before approaching the vehicle.
- Avoid pushing or roughhousing while waiting or boarding.
- When exiting the bus, children must cross in front of the bus, never behind it.
- When approaching and leaving the bus stop, remind children to be alert to traffic, looking left, right and left again before crossing the street.