WALL, N.J. — On Monday, Student Transportation Inc. (STI) employees across North America wore blue T-shirts in support of the “Stomp Out Bullying” campaign.

Oct. 3 is recognized as “Blue Shirt Day” by Stomp Out Bullying, and STI bus drivers, mechanics, monitors and office staff donned the shirts to promote the reduction and prevention of bullying on the school bus. 

“Students can spend up to 90 minutes on the bus each day, whether it is during their home-to-school routes or traveling to extracurricular activities,” said Peter Pearson, executive vice president of STI. “We want our staff to be aware of the signs and to aid in the prevention of such a common problem.”

In conjunction with Blue Shirt Day, STI released a new, two-part instructional program on its employee distance learning system, ST University, that focuses on the telltale signs of bullying, how to work with parents and school districts to prevent it, and effective actions to manage bullying on the bus. 

The company will roll out the program to many of its staff members with the hope that it will create a better environment for the more than 600,000 students the company transports each day, officials said.

For more information about the Stomp Out Bullying campaign, visit www.stompoutbullying.org. 

To see some of the local efforts to support the cause, and to keep up with STI, visit www.RideSTA.com or “Like” the company on Facebook here.