School Transportation Nation

It was a packed year for School Transportation News magazine. Tony and Ryan review the top article in each monthly issue and what student transporters have to say about their operations and challenges. Read more at stnonline.com/digital-editions.

Industry expert, NAPT Hall of Famer, TSD Tenured Faculty Member, and consultant Linda Bluth, Ed.D joins us for the first time on the podcast to share insights on students with special needs. She addresses the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), departmental collaboration, aides, alternative transportation, substitute drivers, training and more. New Zonar CEO Charles Kriete discusses the technology provider’s combination with GPS Trackit, as well as efficiencies and innovations planned for the future. Read more about special needs and leadership.

Ryan and Tony analyze headlines including Lion Electric’s reduction of electric school bus manufacturing, technology provider Zonar’s acquisition by GPS Trackit, and what such developments mean for the industry. T.J. Reed, the new president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, joins us to discuss his vision for the company and exciting future innovations. Join us at STN EXPO Charlotte for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Thomas Built Buses C2 Plant in High Point, N.C. Learn more at stnexpo.com/east. Read more about leadership.

Safety lessons the industry can learn from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Loading & Unloading Survey and illegal school bus passing report to Congress, as well as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse recommendations. Joshua Wilson, former transportation director, national director of student transportation for Specialized Education Services, and a 2024 STN Rising Star, leverages his expertise in driver training to analyze the school bus driver shortage, alternative transportation, and more. Read more about leadership.

Keynote trainers and conversations at the TSD Conference and Trade Show last week focused on seeing students with special needs as people first and consistently supporting them in their distinctive requirements. “I always ask: ‘Is this in the best interest of the kid?’” Dana Rosen, TSD keynote speaker and assistant director of transportation services for student safety and support for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Texas, shares how she uses her special education background to support both transportation staff and students with special needs on the school bus ride. Read more about special needs. Episode sponsors: Transfinder, School-Radio.

STN Publisher and President Tony Corpin sat down with a few special guests at this week’s Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs (TSD) Conference and Trade Show. Gregg Prettyman, vice president of FirstAlt by contractor First Student, shares the program’s successes in serving students with special needs or disabilities and dispels myths about the alternative transportation industry. Mike Ippolito, general manager of School Radio by Diga-Talk, shares how product developments like a new Wi-Fi-enabled radio can increase school bus connectivity and student safety.    Transfinder’s Vice President of Marketing John Daniels and client Annette “Kecia” Ling, transportation director of operations and planning for Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in Georgia, discuss leveraging technology to provide uniquely customized transportation service for students with special needs. Hear soundbites from some of our attendees as they share what they found useful amid the learning, training and networking at the TSD Conference and Trade Show.  Read more about special needs. Episode sponsors: Transfinder, School Radio.

School bus seat belt legislation is back in Congress. STN’s November issue includes features on industry leadership, EV battery technology, and more. “We find a way to make it happen.” Craig Beaver, administrator of transportation for Beaverton School District near Portland, Oregon, and the 2024 STN Transportation Director of the Year, discusses the paths that led him to his current storied leadership position, as well as the knowledge and technology that goes into school bus driver retention and clean bus trailblazing. Read more about leadership. Episode sponsors: Transfinder, School-Radio.

Ryan & Tony look at contractor First Student’s bus technology experiments, the upcoming elections, a New York bus company’s fraud scheme, a bus driver’s book on anxiety for student riders, and additional safety efforts. Amy Rosa, director of transportation for Wa-Nee Community Schools in Indiana, talks winning a Top Transportation Teams award at STN EXPO Reno in July, driver retention efforts, technology implementation, effective student safety practices, and success with electric buses. Read more about operations. Episode sponsor: Transfinder

Read remembrances of industry veteran George Edward (Ed) Donn and watch recent STN webinars on fleet electrification and school bus W-Fi. The upcoming Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs (TSD) Conference and Trade Show held Nov. 8-12, 2024 in Dallas-Frisco, Texas, hosts the conversations that transportation and education departments need to align on regarding students with special needs. Industry consultant and TSD Tenured Faculty member Launi Schmutz-Harden joins us to discuss the role of monitors and aides on special needs routes, the hands-on emergency evacuation training at TSD, and regulating the use of non-yellow bus transportation. Read more about special needs.

Ryan and Tony analyze Hurricanes Helene and Milton’s impact on Florida and recap the news and awards shared at the National Association for Pupil Transportation Conference & Trade Show. Transfinder CEO Antonio Civitella discusses leveraging technology and teamwork for school bus operations and emergency preparedness. Read more about operations and weather.