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Date: 11/14/2018
AGAWAM – Agawam native Forrest Bradford, a school bus driver for special needs students with the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, is combatting bullying and bus rowdiness with reading.
Bradford recently introduced a new program, Books on the Bus, to the LPVEC Agawam terminal located on Shoemaker Lane. The program – which originates from Maine – encourages older students to read to younger students during their bus ride to school. The purpose of the program is to foster relationships, give the students something to focus on, and ultimately, help them mentally prepare for the rest of their day.
The program also quiets the bus and reduces apprehensions the students may feel when their surroundings are noisy, explained Bradford.
“The older children in the program gain the feeling of responsibility, and they love helping out,” he said. “It solves the problem of older students acting out, and the bullying on the buses actually tends to go down – or at least the feeling of bullying because you’re now making the buses quieter.”
Another benefit of the program is it allows the driver to pay closer attention to the road, making the bus ride safer, he added.
The movement originally comes from Don Sanders, a driver for MSAD 75 in Tophsam, Maine. Sanders was recently given the Sarah Whitten Community Award for his efforts to encourage his students to read.
Before Bradford knew about the movement in the North, he was inspired to introduce the concept of Books on the Bus after dealing with a particular situation on his special needs bus several months ago.
An elementary-aged girl, he explained, consistently used foul language and threatened the other students during their 35-minute bus ride – despite having an adult-monitor on the bus.
“There was a young girl who was completely out of control – I no longer have this child,” Bradford said. “Yet, I did have to write up reports for her behavior – which her mother would get a copy of.”
Eventually, Bradford came up with the idea to ask his monitor, Annie Kent, to read to the child during their ride.
The student’s behavior improved immediately, he commented.
“I noticed the girl’s mom was really sad when she brought her to the bus. I said, ‘Look, do you have any children’s books? Why don’t we try reading to her to see if this would help?’ And the mother thought it was a great idea,” he continued. “The difference was amazing, she loved being read to. She stopped talking about other children on the bus and became excited about reading on the bus.”
Due to the success of this one student, Bradford began researching the benefits of reading to children on buses and studying how it can improve the bus ride experience for both the students and the driver.
He then stumbled upon Sanders’ “Books on the Bus” program in Maine. Bradford spoke with Sanders to learn more about the growing movement, before finally incorporating it onto his own bus in Agawam.
A total of four buses – one large bus and three special needs buses – at the Agawam LPVEC terminal are now currently participating in the program. On the larger bus, the older students read to the younger students, while the monitors on the special needs buses read to their students.
“I’d like to see this go to all of the surrounding communities. I really think that it has to be done in a particular way, of course,” said Bradford. “I just want to make sure that all of this is positive, and I want people to understand it’s not mandatory. It’s something bus drivers can volunteer to do, if they feel they have the resources to do it.”
Judy Clini of the Agawam Public Library has agreed to donate children’s books to the program, while parents and other individuals may volunteer their books as well. Children can bring their favorite books, but they will be kept separate from the program’s supply.
West Springfield seamstress Lisette Breton has also volunteered to sew slipcovers to fit over the bus seats in order to give the students something to keep their books in.
The Agawam LPVEC terminal has a special bookcase for all the participating bus drivers to stock and swap their books for the program.
To donate books, email Bradford at emeraldsforest@hotmail.com.