To kick off National School Bus Safety Week, which is October 18th – 22nd, Valparaiso Community Schools Transportation Department is hosting its third annual in-house school bus Safety “Roadeo” on October 16th at the Valparaiso Community Schools Service Center, 55 Evans Avenue.
Joining them this year will be drivers and aides from the LaPorte, Michigan City and Portage school transportation departments. The event will include an obstacle course, a written test and a pre-trip inspection. This event is being held to help promote awareness of the dangers associated with driving a school bus. This year’s national theme is “Cross in View, It’s the Right Thing to Do”. Judges for this event will include members of the Valparaiso Fire Department and the Valparaiso Police Department. In one of the events this year the Fire Department will “smoke” a bus to show what it is like to find all the emergency exits if your bus were on fire. The Valparaiso School district covers 30 square miles. The transportation Department has 69 buses that transport approximately 4600 students about 2696 miles PER DAY.