.jpg "Image of START Program")
This past weekend, APS school bus drivers, aides and APS School Safety Team members participated in START (School Transportation Active Threat Response Training).
This program is designed to "target harden" school buses by training drivers and their aides. The START program is specifically designed to empower drivers to make sound decisions during various emergency events including medical emergencies, physical altercations and active shooter incidents.
Our instructors are safety and security experts including local law enforcement, SWAT officers, CIT (Crisis Intervention Teams), emergency medical personnel, behavioral analysis experts and mental health officials.
During the first training session, this is some of what we learned:
- Soft target/hard target
- Bus lot security
- School arrival and dismissal security
- Suspicious activities
- Emergency communication with dispatchers
- Tips on how to react in many different scenarios
- Crisis de-escalation
The second training session will be on March 3 and will have live scenarios on school buses for the drivers and aides to simulate.