Transportation staff receive hands-on active assailant preparedness training
More than 150 Baldwinsville Central School District bus drivers and bus attendants participated in hands-on active assailant preparedness training earlier this week as part of the District’s ongoing commitment to student and staff safety.
The training was provided by ONE Training, an organization specializing in active assailant preparedness and response. Among the instructors was Tom Czyz, a former SWAT team operator and homicide detective and the founder of Armoured One.
Throughout the training, transportation staff learned practical strategies and techniques designed to help them respond in the event of an active assailant situation on a school bus.
One of the most striking exercises involved an action that would typically be considered unsafe behind the wheel: abruptly stopping a school bus traveling approximately 30 miles per hour.
Slamming on the brakes going 30 miles per hour with a bus full of passengers isn't something school bus drivers are encouraged to do, but if an armed assailant is threatening the lives of the people on that bus, that's exactly what we want the driver to do, Czyz told the participants.
Czyz explained that the sudden stop can cause an assailant to lose their balance, potentially taking them off their feet and disrupting their ability to maintain control of the situation.
Bus drivers took turns behind the wheel while transportation staff participated in the exercises, allowing them to experience firsthand how the bus responds during an abrupt stop and better understand how the technique could be used in an emergency.
The training emphasized that responding to an active assailant situation requires drivers and attendants to make quick decisions under extremely stressful circumstances. Hands-on exercises were designed to give staff practical experience with those decisions rather than simply discussing them in a classroom setting.
For Baldwinsville transportation staff, the training is another important component of the District's comprehensive approach to school safety.
“Our bus drivers and attendants have the incredibly important responsibility every day of getting students to and from school safely,” said Cory Duthoy, School Transportation Director . “Providing them with the training and tools to respond in an emergency is an important part of that responsibility. We appreciate ONE Training for bringing this hands-on experience to our transportation team.”
The District regularly provides professional development and emergency preparedness training to staff across all areas of school operations. For transportation staff, Tuesday's training focused specifically on preparing for the unique challenges of responding to an active assailant situation while responsible for the safety of students on board.
The goal is simple: to ensure Baldwinsville's transportation team is as prepared as possible to protect students and one another in any emergency.
