Back to school safety

August 13, 2024
Student and Visitor Risk

The back-to-school countdown has begun and Aug. 15 is National Back to School Prep Day. Along with getting classrooms ready and cleaning the school in preparation for students, now is a good time to remind your families and staff members of some important safety tips.

As families are winding down their summer vacations, consider sending safety tips to parents and staff via email and social media messages. Here, CM Regent offers some ideas for messages you can share:

Parking lot safety

When possible, back into a parking space. Use caution if pulling forward into a parking space. Pulling forward into a parking space increases the potential for collisions with pedestrians and approaching vehicles due to blind spots when backing out to enter the travel lane.
Put technology away. Just like when you’re on the road, you should not be texting or looking at GPS while driving in a parking lot. If you need to manage something on your phone or get your music playing, do so before putting your car into gear.
Stay alert the entire time you are in the parking lot. From a young age, we teach our children to look left, right, then left again before crossing a street. Those same rules apply in a parking lot—perhaps even more so, because there are lots of vehicles and pedestrians making unpredictable movements.
Walk around your car before you leave. This gives you an opportunity to note any dents or scratches, so you are more likely to notice if there are new dents when you come back.

Bus safety

Always arrive early. Try not to wait until the last moment to head to the bus stop. If a child is in a hurry, they are less likely to watch for oncoming traffic. They should leave for the bus stop with plenty of time to spare.
Do not stand on the curb. Children should be standing at least six feet away from the curb until the bus is fully parked in front of them. Then, they should board the bus one at a time, taking care not to push past anyone near the vehicle.
Make eye contact with the bus driver. Children exiting the bus need to take five giant steps away from the front of the bus to make sure the driver can see them, especially if they need to cross in front of the bus. Then, once they have made eye contact with the driver, they should wait until the driver indicates it is safe to cross.
If you drop something, tell the bus driver. Children should never go searching for something they dropped while entering or exiting the bus. It is safest to tell the bus driver, who can then instruct them when it is safe to retrieve the object.
Wait to exit the bus until after it has come to a complete stop. Children should not rise and move to the front of the bus as it is slowing down. They should remain seated until the driver puts the bus in park.

Staying safe when walking to school

Use sidewalks and crosswalks when available. If there are no sidewalks or crosswalks, walk on the side of the street facing traffic and cross the street at intersections where traffic must stop.
When in doubt, wait: While pedestrians are supposed to always have the right of way, you should always assume cars won’t yield until they come to a complete stop.
Never push or shove others on or near roads.
Watch the road, not your phone.

It’s always helpful to remind your school community about these basic safety tips so you can avoid a tragic incident.

For more ways to keep your students and visitors safe, check out these resources.