WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Annual school bus safety training is an interactive experience for students in kindergarten through grade 3 at Westerville City Schools.

During the first two weeks of school, bus drivers travel to the district’s 16 elementary schools and a local Catholic elementary school to perform a skit that conveys basic bus safety rules.

Bus drivers Barbara Hatfield and Yvonne Robertson, who spearhead the performances, had been using a skit to teach students about bus safety and inspired Transportation Manager Bob Lynde and Student Safety and Discipline Supervisor Dan Fawcett to adopt this approach for the transportation department’s district-wide training program four years ago.

“It’s been a positive experience,” Fawcett said. “The students are very entertained, but they’re also informed by the way we present this program.”

Hatfield plays a little girl who misbehaves on and around a school bus, while Robertson plays a little girl who explains what Hatfield is doing wrong and what she should be doing to ensure her safety.

“The performance is timed well,” Lynde said. “When the kids listen to Robertson’s instruction and then see Hatfield doing everything wrong, they point it out to Robertson.”

This provides an automatic confirmation that the students are paying attention and that they understand what they are being taught, he added.

The department has also videotaped the program and provided a copy to each school. Teachers can check out the tape and play it for students who were unable to attend the live performance.

To keep the live performances fresh, Fawcett frequently adds new elements. Last year, he incorporated teachers and school administrators by having them sit in chairs stationed behind a bus. The driver then started the bus and turned on the backup notification beepers.

Lynde said this visibly alarmed the school officials, which registered with students. The drivers concluded the exercise by explaining why it is important to stay out of the danger zone.

The department also began inviting parents. “In addition to the safety instruction, we perform a rear-door bus evacuation drill, which most parents haven’t seen before,” Fawcett said. “They appreciate being able to gain an understanding of what is expected of their children.”

This year, the program underwent a sonic facelift. Hatfield and Robertson received a $1,000 grant from the Westerville Education Foundation, which the transportation department used to purchase a sound system. (It had been borrowing equipment from one of the schools.)

“This is the first time this organization has awarded this grant for a non-teacher, yet educational experience,” Lynde said. “It was exciting that foundation members recognized that the money would be well utilized through the program.”