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Revere bus drivers complete two-day START active-threat training funded by Revere Schools Foundation
Summary
Revere Local transportation staff attended a two-day START (School Transportation Active Threat Response) training with classroom and hands-on exercises, including live-action drills on a bus and weapon-detection practice; the Revere Schools Foundation helped pay for the training.
Revere Local transportation staff completed a two-day START (School Transportation Active Threat Response) training aimed at preparing drivers for an active-threat incident on a school bus. Transportation supervisor A.J. Neitenbach told the school board the sessions combined classroom instruction with hands-on practice and were presented by Levin Security Solutions.
The training included a classroom day focused on threat recognition, communication strategies, building trust with students and pre-trip checks. The second day placed drivers in a parking-lot scenario using a blank-fired cap to simulate a firearm discharge inside a moving bus; drivers practiced step-by-step maneuvers and response routines. Instructors also hid simulated weapons on buses to improve drivers’ pre-trip inspection skills.
Neitenbach said about six law-enforcement trainers led the sessions and praised the program’s specificity and realism. He said the course emphasized de-escalation, how to communicate firm directions without escalating, and techniques to get students to follow emergency directions quickly. The hands-on drills, he said, revealed how participants’ instincts can differ from recommended procedures and underscored the need for practice.
Officer Scott Dressler, the district SRO, told the board he has long considered buses among the most vulnerable parts of the system and welcomed the training as an important investment in driver confidence and student safety. Neitenbach said the Revere Schools Foundation helped fund the training.
Board members asked about training frequency for new drivers; Neitenbach said START recommends periodic refreshers and that in-district certified trainers (bus instructors/OBIs) can teach new drivers the techniques between full START sessions.
The district also held local “drive a bus” recruitment events to address summer hiring shortfalls and reported several new drivers recruited from the community.
