When leaving their child in the care of someone else, most parents say the safety of their child is their number one concern. At Stepping Stone School, we could not agree more, especially when it comes to safety in and around the vans and buses. Since 1979, Stepping Stone School has always been at the forefront of safety protocols, often implementing procedures many years before they become law. Here are some of our tried-and-true policies, many of which have become state regulations:

• Our vehicles have an alarm that goes off anytime children are unloading to alert anyone in the area to be extra cautious.
• A staff member climbs onto each vehicle after the children have unloaded and checks on and under every seat in the vehicle to ensure that no children are hiding or sleeping on the bus. The alarm sounds until the teacher turns it off at the rear of the bus.
• Stepping Stone School also uses a “Name-to-Face” form in which we physically look for each child as they enter and exit the vehicle, not relying on a simple roll call. In this way, we can be doubly sure that all children have exited the vehicle.
• The “Name-to-Face” is also used to ensure that we have picked up all the children from the elementary school that are supposed to ride for the day. We use the form to determine which children are not on the bus and have not already been reported as absent by their parents. Stepping Stone School will call the parents of any child who does not show up for the bus to verify whether they are or are not supposed to ride for the day. If the parent says the child is supposed to ride, we will not leave the elementary school without the child.
• While in transit, Stepping Stone School vehicles may not travel over 50 miles per hour and never travel on the main lanes of IH-35.
• Each of our drivers must attend a vehicle safety training twice a year; the State of Texas only requires once, in order to reinforce and refresh the safety procedures and the importance of adhering to them.
• We install back-up beepers on all of our vehicles to ensure anyone walking near or behind the vehicle knows that it is moving.

For over 35 years, Stepping Stone School has made safety a top priority of our company. Whether your child is in the classroom or on one of our vehicles on the way to or from school, or even a field trip, you can rest assured that your child is safe and well cared for.