The American School Bus Council (ASBC) has named the winner of its annual National School Bus Safety Week poster contest.

Annually, ASBC encourages students to enter its poster contest to help artistically represent the safety theme through a child’s eyes, the organization said in a news release. Thousands of school districts in more than 40 states participate in local- and state-level competitions. The winning posters are used to promote safer school transportation for everyone. State winners advance to the national contest.

“Red Lights Mean STOP!” is the 2019-20 School Bus Safety Week theme. The theme highlights the importance of motorists knowing when to stop for a school bus that is picking up students.

In 2019, a poster drawn by Bryan Torres-Tavarez, a 12th grader at Stars Academy in Paterson, N.J., was chosen to promote the “Red Means STOP!” theme. As the overall winner, Torres-Tavarez received a $500 check, and 54,000 copies of his poster have been printed and distributed across the U.S. to schools and other locations to promote school bus safety.

ASBC and the industry are now looking toward next year’s National School Bus Safety Week, when the theme will be “Be Safe — Know the Danger Zone.” The posters must be submitted to state directors by Jan. 1, 2021 or the designated individual state deadline.

Each participating U.S. state, Canadian province, or overseas U.S. military installation may submit one (only first-place winners) winning poster to ASBC in each of the following categories:

·    Division #1 - Grades K–2
·    Division #2 - Grades 3–5
·    Division #3 - Grade 6–8
·    Division #4 - Special education (Grades K–12)
·    Division #5 - CAD (Computer-Aided Drawing)
·    Division #6 - International entries

Prizes will be awarded for each division as follows:

·    1st place and overall winner - $500 check
·    1st place winners of remaining three divisions - $250 check
·    2nd place winners of each of the four divisions - $100 check
·    3rd place winners of each of the four divisions - $50 check
·    1st place winner – CAD division - $50 check
·    1st place winner – International division - $50 check

Poster winners will be notified, and prizes will be sent in May 2021. The 1st Place/overall winning poster will be used to promote National School Bus Safety Week for 2021.

For more information on the poster contest or to obtain copies, email deb@americanschoolbuscouncil.org.

Get more information and materials on keeping students safe in the danger zone.