• Cultural Calendar
  • Safety
Learning Better School Bus Safety

National School Bus Safety Week is October 21–25 and provides an important opportunity to address and promote the importance of school bus safety while also educating on better safety practices.

As the direct link between home and school, school bus transportation plays a critical role in the education of our nation’s students. More than 25 million children ride the bus every school day, and National School Bus Safety Week serves as a reminder for students, parents, teachers, and their community to keep school bus safety top of mind. Following are some helpful tips from the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) to keep children safer at the bus stop:

  • Encourage children to wear bright, contrasting colors so they’re more visible to drivers.
     
  • Make sure children arrive at the bus stop before it is due, ideally at least five minutes early. Teach children the dangers of running after or in front of a bus.
     
  • There’s safety in numbers — walk young children to the bus stop or encourage kids to walk in groups (which are easier for drivers to see).
     
  • Practice good pedestrian behavior — walk on the sidewalk, and stay out of the street.
     
  • If you do have to walk in the street, walk single file, face traffic and stay as close to the edge of the road as possible.
     
  • At the Bus Stop, have children wait in a location where the driver can see them clearly as they come down the street.
     
  • Do not let children play in the street.
     
  • Warn children that if they drop something getting on or off the bus, they should never pick it up. Instead, they should notify the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.
     
  • Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus.
     
  • If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side of the road where the child will be dropped off, not across the street. Otherwise, children can be so excited to see you after school that they dash across the street, forgetting safety rules, and endangering themselves.

For more information, visit https://www.napt.org/nsbsw.

Archive

Colleague AI Event 2025

Colleague AI is an innovative educational platform featuring AI assistants that serve as knowledgeable colleagues for educators and friendly learning companions for students. Our purpose is to create dynamic, collaborative, and personalized educational experiences for everyone, so check out Puget Sound ESD’s upcoming Colleague AI professional learning opportunities!

Read More about Colleague AI Professional Learning Opportunities This Spring
AI Innovation Summit Takes Place February 3–5, 2025

Explore the power of artificial intelligence in K-12 education! Whether you’re new to AI or already implementing it, the AI Innovation Summit Feb 3-5 offers the opportunity to come together to gain knowledge and explore strategies. ESD 121’s EdTech Coordinator, Trinh Pham, is presenting multiple sessions at the AI Innovation Summit on February 3–5, 2025.

Read More about AI Innovation Summit Takes Place February 3–5, 2025
Recognizing Our School Boards in January!

As ordinary people who come from all walks of life, School Board members work on a volunteer basis to both support students and represent their communities when it comes to public education. Each school board brings together a group of members working together with the common goal of helping students to learn, grow, and overcome the challenges as well as the triumphs of their educational journeys. Our school board members often face many complex and demanding challenges, especially across the past few years as they supported our educators and students in meeting the hurdles of COVID and lockdown. January is School Board Recognition Month, which gives us the opportunity to thank and recognize their efforts.

Read More about Recognizing Our School Boards in January!
Puget Sound Educational Service District Receives $1.75 Million Grant to Advance Educator Diversity and Equity Across Puget Sound  

PSESD, in partnership with a diverse coalition of school districts, higher education institutions, and community organizations, has been awarded a transformative $1.75 million grant from College Spark Washington to focus on increasing educator diversity and promote racial equity in Washington's educational landscape. 

Read More about Puget Sound Educational Service District Receives $1.75 Million Grant to Advance Educator Diversity and Equity Across Puget Sound  
National School Lunch Week Celebrates the Difference a Simple Lunch Can Make

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves nearly 30 million children every school day, providing the essential basic nutrition that contributes to student success and teacher support. President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life, as well as the impact a simple school lunch can have both inside and outside the classroom.

Read More about National School Lunch Week Celebrates the Difference a Simple Lunch Can Make