It’s one of a parent’s greatest worries: will Johnny get to school and back home safely?

With school back in session, and many working parents not able to accompany their children to and from school every day, street smarts is one of the first educational tools a kid needs.

Now there’s a bus to help them avoid traffic dangers.

The Signs for Life bus is a mobile classroom that will travel to local schools to show students how to navigate their neighborhoods, whether it’s a crosswalk, signal light, bike lane, stop sign or road hazard.

The bus, unveiled Wednesday at Harrison School District 2, is an old city bus all gussied up with colorful paint, solar technology and an interior filled with video screens, a traffic light and a floor that looks like a paved street .

The bus will first be used by fifth graders in D-2’s elementary schools. Later, the program will be expanded to other grades and eventually to other school districts, officials said.

Non-profit Drive Smart Colorado received a Colorado Department of Transportation grant of about $85,000 to create the unique program.

John Henry, board chairman of Drive Smart, said: “The bus is like a mini field trip.”

Drive Smart had plenty of donor help from a variety of businesses to create the interior. The bus was purchased at an auction for around $4,500.

Volunteers will give the tours, which will supplement classroom lessons. Information will also go home to parents so they can discuss safety with their children. It dovetails with Harrison’s program to teach kids healthy eating, exercise and other lifestyle topics.

“Our kids will be excited about this. And it will create an important awareness. We want them to be as safe as can be,” said Interim Superintendent David MacKenzie.

Brian Shevock, who oversees schools safety for the city traffic engineer, said it took him and others about four months to design the bus.

Shevock said he had a bad scare the other day that really brought home the need for street safety.

He saw a youngster riding a bike almost get run over by a police cruiser that had the green light and was answering a call with lights flashing.

“The boy wasn’t paying any attention to cross traffic. He was wearing earphones, so evidently couldn’t hear the siren. If it had been a few seconds more it would have been a tragedy. ”

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Contact Carol McGraw: 636-0371 Twitter @mcgrawatgazette Facebook Carol McGraw