HERSHEY — Two Bald Eagle Middle School students were recently honored for their school bus safety posters and superior driving skills during a ceremony marking School Bus Safety Week at the Hershey Antique Automobile Museum. The state Dept. of Transportation and the Pennsylvania State Police presented the student winners with certificates and trophies in recognition of their creative efforts to communicate the importance of school bus safety, and they discussed the critical role that school bus drivers play in our communities, transporting more than 1.4 million students across Pennsylvania daily.
“With the end of another summer, school is back in session, and school buses have returned to our roads, shifting the Shapiro Administration’s focus to getting young Pennsylvanians to and from school safely,” said PennDOT Director of Driver Licensing Dios Arroyo. “School Bus Safety Week gives everyone an opportunity to pause and realize just how much our own actions behind the wheel can affect innocent, young lives.”
This year’s school bus safety poster contest winners were chosen from 92 student entries from schools across Pennsylvania under the theme, “Safe Rides – Everyday Heroes.” The first-place entries moved on to the national competition in August, with two Pennsylvania students placing in their divisions.
In the Grades 6-8 Division, two students from Bald Eagle Middle School in Wingate were named winners:
- Hailey Struble
- Gracelyn Glunt
Officials also recognized the winners of the 47th State School Bus Driver Safety Competition, held in June at Bald Eagle Area High School in Bellefonte. Nearly 50 drivers were judged based on their performance on a written exam and a practical driving skills test on a closed course.
“School bus drivers are on the front lines and in the public eye every day ensuring the safety of our children as they travel to and from school and activities and are doing an extraordinary job,” said Cpl. Zeina Black, Permits and Bus Safety Division Supervisor for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Division of the Bureau of Patrol for the Pennsylvania State Police. “Every day, they deliver their precious cargo to its destination without incident, reinforcing the trust parents have in their abilities.”
For more information about school bus safety, visit the PennDOT School Bus Safety page on its traffic safety website.
