CHP names Greg Perez school bus driver of the year

Since joining the Monterey County Office of Education in 1981, school bus driver Greg Perez has logged over 780,000 accident-free miles, while transporting special needs students around the county. That’s roughly the equivalent of circling the globe 31 times without an accident.

On Friday, the California Highway Patrol named Perez its School Bus Driver of the Year at a ceremony held at the Monterey County Office of Education in Salinas. The CHP award is given annually to a school bus driver who has shown outstanding performance and exceeded expectations.

“This is a big deal,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “I don’t think many people realize what Greg and the state’s 34,000 other bus drivers are asked to do. We entrust them with our children’s safety. It’s a huge responsibility, and Greg does it quietly, efficiently and safely, every single day.”

Perez attends monthly training sessions on safety, first aid, fire equipment, bus evacuation, and procedures specific to transporting special needs students.

In addition to being named School Bus Driver of the Year, Perez received the Commissioner’s Medal of Distinction, the CHP’s highest honor, and a resolution from the California State Senate.

Congratulations, Mr. Perez! And thanks for your hard, safe work.

Story contributed by Barry Brown of the Monterey County Office of Education.

Marina High trains 48 student leaders in the Plus Program

John Vanderburgh, developer of the PLUS program to create safe school environments, kicked off Monday a two-day training for Marina High students. Forty-eight students were chosen by teachers and other students as the "natural influencers," those who have pull among their peers. Over the training, they'll be taught strategies that will result in creating a more inclusive campus. As you'll see in this video, Vanderburgh is a very engaging speaker, the students seemed completely hooked in his message. What he said resonated with them: when young people are facing pressures, their peers can help develop connections with each other that will help ease their burdens. The PLUS training is being paid for with a grant Marina, Seaside and Monterey high schools received last year from the California Department of Education. Vanderburgh said he's taken his program all over the country and that it's shown great results. I look forward to visiting Marina High in a few months and see what effect it's had. Stay tuned.

Gonzales tackles school safety, in another way

The Gonzales Unified School District will host a presentation -- in English and Spanish -- on raising emotionally healthy children. The meeting will address concerns of school violence, and parents and community members will learn how to support young children.

The presentations will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, February 7, at the Gonzales High School band room, 501 5th St Gonzales.

Safe Routes grant to benefit Monterey Peninsula students

The Monterey County Health Department has received $375,000 as part of a Safe Routes to School grant from the California Department of Public Health’s Kids’ Plate program. The Safe Routes to School grant will bring pedestrian and bike education to schools as well as traffic enforcement around the schools and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The 21-month long grant begins on March 1, and will benefit Ord Terrace Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Highland Elementary, Del Rey Oaks Elementary, and Marina Vista Elementary.

While a large majority of students live within one mile of their schools, many of the parents still drive their children to school. This reduces the exercise a child gets and increases traffic around the schools.

The lack of exercise may contribute to the high childhood obesity rates in Seaside, which is at 46 percent, the third worst in Monterey County. Furthermore, driving children to school causes major traffic congestion around schools in the mornings and afternoons.

A unique feature of the grant is having the children practice with a mock town brought to their school. As part of the mock town, students will work with pretend traffic situations such as cars backing up in driveways and/ or drivers who are distracted, and learn to recognize these problems and how to protect themselves.