Keeping kindergartners safe and secure

This fall, many youngsters are getting ready to embark on one of their biggest adventures: starting school.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District is preparing kindergartners for their first day on a school bus. Safety coordinator and head bus driver Leslie Buczkowski recently held two training sessions with district transportation personnel, incoming kindergartners and their families.

"We do this every year and we find that it makes the process on opening day a lot easier for the students. We talk to the parents about what will make this a smoother school year for all of us. We also go over safety precautions, rules with the students, and then we take them all for a ride on a school bus."

The bus ride with their parents makes the students feel more confident.

"They get on the bus and they think, oh, I have done this with mommy or daddy, and it is not so frightening," said Buczkowski. "It makes opening day a much more pleasant experience for everyone. We know that the first day of school can be exciting and overwhelming for everyone and we just want parents to be assured that our main priority is the safety of their children."