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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1991, the North
Central Highway Safety Network planned and held a School Bus
Safety and Incident Management Workshop with Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) in Schuykill County, Pennsylvania. In response
to inquiries from workshop staff, the crossing guards in attendance
reported a lack of formal training for their jobs, even though
some had held their positions for many years.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Adult Crossing
Guard Workshop seeks to improve the pedestrian safety of school
students by providing professional training for crossing guards.
The workshop is set
up to instruct new guards in basic procedures and to reinforce
or improve the techniques of experienced guards. Specific objectives
of the workshop are:
- To identify and help
solve any problems the guards may have
- To teach guards procedures
for helping students to cross streets safely
- To identify the person
who handles personnel grievances for crossing guard staff and
to address policies on sickness and personal emergencies
- To have a police representative
teach traffic management
- To make available a
health professional to instruct guards in the basics of first
aid
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Since the majority
of the crossing guards at the workshop were from the Pottsville
School District, a police captain from that region agreed to
coordinate the development of the Adult Crossing Guard Workshop.
The first workshop was held in August 1991 for the Pottsville
School District crossing guards. Two more workshops have since
been held, one in August 1992 and another in August 1993.
Workshop topics include:
- Pedestrian safety (geared
to the young pedestrian) and school bus safety for riders, drivers,
and crossing guards
- Basic first aid, presented
by an EMS professional
The program also includes
an American Automobile Association (AAA) training video and uses
overhead projections to depict various crossing situations. |
