Students and staff from Mobile County Public Schools stuffing school buses with Christmas gifts for local children and teenagers.
On Dec. 14, the school district thanked everyone who had helped “Stuff the Bus” with over 5,500 toys this month for needy children in the community. Students, faculty, staff, 54 school sites, and the district central office participated and helped collect the toys for the campaign.
According to local news, this is the 12th year for the district to Stuff the Bus. This year two buses were reportedly stuffed with gifts.
The district said via social media that while many of the donated gifts will be distributed to students in need who attend Mobile County schools, the rest will be distributed by the Salvation Army to children throughout the community
The School Superintendents Association (AASA) has chosen its four finalists for the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year Award.
AASA announced on Monday that the four finalists were chosen based on their exceptional leadership skills and dedication to furthering public education in their local communities. Each superintendent was nominated by their respective state association as winners of their state superintendent of the year award. The judging criteria included communication, professionalism, community involvement, and creative leadership strategies to positively impact students and meet their educational needs.
The four finalists are Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat of Peoria Public School District 150 in Illinois, Walter B. Gonsoulin, Jr., of Jefferson County Schools in Alabama; Debbie Jones of Bentonville School District in Arkansas, and David K. Moore of School District of Indian River County in Florida.
“These extraordinary leaders embody the transformative power of public education,” said AASA Executive Director David R. Schuler in a statement. “Their visionary leadership is creating dynamic opportunities for students, uplifting communities, and advancing the promise of public education as the foundation of our democracy. We are honored to celebrate their achievements.”
The winner will be announced during AASA’s National Conference on Education, held March 6-8 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A $10,000 college scholarship will also be presented to a high school student at the school the winning superintendent graduated from or within the school district the superintendent now serves.
The award is presented in partnership with Corebridge Financial and Sourcewell. Prior sponsor First Student is no longer aligned with the award but remains an exhibitor at the AASA along with a half dozen other companies aligned with the student transportation industry.
As 2024 comes to close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on new beginnings. Jennifer Vobis was recognized for her exceptional work as the 2022 Transportation Director of the Year, and she continued pursuing excellence in her role as executive transportation director at Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada.
In her “Day in the Life” video, she helped prepare her transportation team the 2024-2025 school year and shared a heartfelt farewell as retired from her position at CCSD. Tune in for a behind the scenes look at the process of prepping for a new school year, interviews with CCSD transportation staff and lots of smiles shared with Jennifer and her team.
“My time at CCSD transportation department was invaluable,” Vobis told STN.
“During my tenure, I grew both professionally and personally. I hold deep gratitude for colleagues and staff for their hard work and dedication. I wish only the best to those who continue the important work of transporting students. The work they do is critical and under-appreciated.”
Vobis helped to create and define the new transportation lead position for Amber Rideout, Vobis’ former assistant director of transportation who was promoted to the district’s assistant superintendent of transportation.
The latest personnel move related to the Lion Electric Company monetary issues is Nicolas Brunet, who the company announced is resigned as president 14 months after he was tapped for the position.
Lion made no formal announcement, with a note indicating Brunet was leaving the company immediately tucked away on the second to last page of an SEC filing dated Dec. 1. That same day, the company announced it was halting production at its Joliet, Illinois, factory and was laying over 400 workers.
Nicolas Brunet
Lion has until Dec. 16 to pay back four creditors unless it can secure additional investments or find a company to purchase it.
Brunet joined the company headquartered in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, in 2019 and was executive vice president and CFO before being named president on Sept. 28, 2023.
A company spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday on Brunet’s departure but added that Marc Bedard remains chief executive officer. Bedard founded Lion Electric as Autobus Lion, or Lion Bus, in 2008 after previously serving as an executive for Type A school bus manufacturer Corbeil, which closed the previous year.
Lion’s first school bus was the Lion 360 in 2011, a diesel Type C model developed in partnership with Spartan Chassis. The company transitioned to only manufacturing electric school buses and rebranded itself as Lion Electric in 2017. Two years later it began manufacturing electric trucks.
Bourne Intermediate School in Bourne, Massachusetts, will host a “Stuff A Bus” event on Dec. 7 to collect toy donations for local children this holiday season.
Bourne Public Schools released a statement announcing the “Stuff A Bus” event that will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bourne Intermediate School.
Residents are encouraged to drop off unwrapped gifts or gift cards for children of all ages. Bourne bus drivers and District staff will collect the donations, which will be distributed only to children within the Bourne community.
According to the release, “Stuff A Bus” is sponsored by Bourne Public Schools bus drivers, as an opportunity for community members to support disadvantaged children.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — North America Central School Bus (NACSB) is pleased to announce an important leadership transition. After more than 30 years of dedicated service in the student transportation industry, our esteemed President and CEO, Steve Hemmerlein, has decided to retire. Steve’s remarkable career includes significant contributions throughout the student transportation industry. His leadership and vision have been instrumental in shaping NACSB into the organization it is today. Steve will be greatly missed by all.
As we bid farewell to Steve, we are excited to announce that Jason Walker, who recently joined NACSB as Chief Operating Officer, will be stepping into the role of President and CEO. Jason brings 28 years of experience in transportation logistics, including 22 years at UPS. Most recently, he served as COO of United Road Services. A passionate advocate for developing talent and fostering innovation, Jason is committed to continuing NACSB’s tradition of safety and excellence.
Founded in 2004, North America Central School Bus is one of the largest student transportation providers in North America, operating over 5,700 school buses and employing over 6,200 dedicated staff members. We are confident that under Jason’s leadership, NACSB will continue to deliver the highest level of service, reliability, and care for the communities we serve.
About North America Central School Bus (NACSB)
NACSB’s mission is to provide safe, efficient, and reliable transportation services that support the educational journey of students. They strive to foster a culture of safety, innovation, and excellence in all operations.
Casiano Perez said the Theodore Roosevelt quote “Believe you can and you’re halfway there” is an empowering statement that resonates with him. The quote reminds him that self-belief is crucial.
“When you start your day believing in your abilities, you’re more likely to tackle challenges with a positive mindset,” he said. “On tough days, this quote reminds me that a significant part of overcoming challenges lies in your mindset. Believing in your ability to find solutions can help you stay resilient and push through difficulties, whether it’s dealing with traffic delays, mechanical issues, or other unforeseen problems. This self-belief can also motivate you to keep striving for excellence, knowing that your efforts are making a difference in the students’ daily lives.”
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
Prior to joining the student transportation industy, Perez worked a couple of years a router for a food service company. Following his time with the food service company, he served in various roles — coordinating transportation for students with disabilities, managing schedules, and ensuring that all transportation activities adhered to school policies and state regulations — for a nonpublic school, expanding his experience. This experience, he said, allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the unique challenges and requirements of pupil transportation, particularly for students with disabilities.
In 2016, he joined the East San Gabriel Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) as a transportation router. In this role, he designed and implemented efficient transportation routes for students with special needs. “My dedication and expertise quickly led to my promotion to transportation director, a position I have proudly held for the past five years,” he noted. “Throughout my career, I have consistently focused on improving transportation efficiency and ensuring the safety and well-being of students. My journey has been marked by continuous learning and a commitment to excellence in pupil transportation.”
His daily responsibilities as transportation director involve coordinating and managing various aspects of special education across 10 Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). Perez explained that he regularly communicates with the LEAs to ensure special education services are being delivered effectively. He also attends meetings with LEA representatives, parents, and other stakeholders to discuss student needs, program updates and compliance issues.
A significant part of his role, he said, includes overseeing the planning and optimization of over 120 special education transportation routes to ensure the safe and timely transport of approximately 1,000 special education students.
Other job duties include working with their transportation vendor, as he oversees the contract, and collaborating with bus drivers and transportation staff to address challenges.
“I ensure that Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are being implemented correctly and that all documentation is up to date, while staying informed about state and federal regulations related to special education to ensure compliance,” he added, noting that attending student IEP meetings is a key part of my role.
It’s during these meetings that he provides input and support to ensure that the educational plans meet the students’ needs. Perez also coordinates the allocation of resources, such as specialized equipment and support staff, “to meet the diverse needs of students, and organize training sessions and professional development opportunities for school bus drivers and transportation support staff,” he noted.
In terms of crisis management, Perez said he address any immediate issues or emergencies that arise, whether related to student behavior, transportation, or other concerns, and maintains open lines of communication with parents to address their concerns and provide updates on their child’s progress. “Every day is different and that’s what keeps things interesting,” he said.
Focus on Safety, Efficiency
Scott Turner, executive director of East San Gabriel Valley SELPA, wrote in his nomination that Perez is an amazing leader, being instrumental in creating a close partnership with school bus contractor Durham School Services that focuses on high-quality service, safety and efficiency, overcoming barriers such as varying school district calendars, strict parameters on ride time, and serving primarily a moderate/severe population.
Casiano Perez looks to provide safe and efficient support of students with special needs.
“Mr. Perez has developed and maintained ongoing meetings of a safety committee, regular professional development, hands-on emergency planning and numerous processes and policies that have been instrumental in providing services to the ten school districts,” Turner added. “… Mr. Perez has been regularly recognized by parents, superintendents, special education directors, and his peers for his dedication to improving services for students with disabilities.”
Perez explained that he has expanded on several key projects during his time as director to enhance safety and efficiency. One of those focuses has been on staff training and development for school bus drivers. East San Gabriel Valley SELPA implemented a comprehensive student management training program that educates drivers on various disabilities they may encounter and how to effectively support those students while on the school bus.
“Additionally, we have dedicated significant time to emergency planning training to ensure that our drivers are well-prepared to respond to any emergencies, whether they occur inside or outside the school bus,” he added. “This holistic approach ensures that our drivers are equipped with the necessary skills and tools to handle a wide range of situations, ultimately providing a safer and more supportive environment for our students.”
A recent challenge amid school start-up was, you guessed it, the driver shortage. Perez said it continues to be a significant hurdle for not only their operations, but across the industry. To address it, he said, they worked to establish a strong partnership with Durham, which helps them maintain a steady pipeline of trained drivers.
Transportation staff also ensures that ongoing training and support are provided to the drivers to help them with the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully transport all students.
“Additionally, throughout the year, in collaboration with Durham, we participate in lunches on special occasions such as Love the Bus Month, School Bus Driver Week, Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and other events to help keep morale high,” Perez added. “This proactive approach helps us mitigate the impact of driver shortages and maintain a high standard of service.”
Other initiatives to boost driver morale include regularly acknowledging and rewarding outstanding performance through awards and certificates, offering ongoing training and development programs to help drivers advance in their driving careers as well as maintaining open lines of communication between drivers and management, encouraging feedback and suggestions.
“These efforts help drivers feel valued, appreciated, and involved in decision-making processes,” he said.
Going Forward
Within the next five years he said he sees the East San Gabriel Valley SELPA continuing to transform to become more efficient, inclusive and environmentally friendly. Perez said his goal is to create a system where every student, regardless of their special needs, has access to safe and reliable transportation. To achieve this, the plan is to fully integrate technology in all aspects of their transportation operations. This, he said, will ensure safety and efficiency to optimize routes, reduce travel times and improve communication channels between the SELPA, parents, and the community, which is essential to ensure transparency and foster collaboration.
“Additionally, we are continuously upgrading our safety protocols and infrastructure to create a secure environment for all students,” he said. “These goals reflect our commitment to creating a supportive, innovative, and inclusive educational environment for all our students.”
In working with Durham, East San Gabriel Valley SELPA is committed to transitioning to a greener fleet by incorporating electric vehicles.
“I would also like to expand training programs for school bus drivers to include specialized training in handling the unique needs of our students, ensuring a compassionate and supportive environment,” he said of future projects. “Through these initiatives, I aim to create a transportation system that not only meets the logistical needs of our students but also supports their overall well-being and educational success.”
Above all, Perez said his favorite part of his job, is the opportunity to make a positive impact on students’ lives every day.
“Every day, I get to ensure that these students have a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable journey to and from school,” he said. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see their smiles and know that I’m contributing to their overall well-being and educational experience.”
Plus, he said, he enjoys the relationships that he’s built with the students and their families. “Understanding their unique needs and preferences allows me to provide personalized care and support, which can make a significant difference in their day,” he said. “The trust and appreciation from both the students and their parents are truly heartwarming and motivating.”
He explained that having close family members with special needs makes the work even more meaningful to him. “It drives me to do everything I can to be an advocate for these students, ensuring they receive the care and support they deserve,” he said.
Outside of work, he spends his time going to his children’s sporting activities. His oldest daughter plays club soccer, and his son plays baseball, which adds up to a busy weekend. When Perez does have free time, he and his wife enjoy bike riding and participating in local 5-10K charity runs. They are fans of the outdoors and enjoy camping or off-roading.
Christopher Faust said, “Do what you can,” The words Christopher Faust lives by everyday are, “Do what you can.” He started his career in transportation through the public transit industry with the City of Sheboygan, Shoreline Metro. He explained that Sheboygan Area School District has parented with the Shoreline Metro since 2018 to provide free transportation for all students and staff, and the transit agency transports many students who are not eligible for yellow bus transportation.
Christopher Faust’s Rising Star nomination said he is committed to furthering student safety.
Faust noted that he started as a transit coordinator with Shoreline Metro before accepting the transportation supervisor position with the Sheboygan Area School District in June of 2022. Two years later, his title was changed to coordinator of transportation.
“Chris is a highly dedicated, driven and success-oriented individual,” Derek Muench, director of transit and parking for the City of Sheboygan, wrote in his nomination. “He genuinely cares for students, families and customers. He is focused on making services more reliable, safer and easier to use. He has demonstrated this during his tenure with SASD and will continue to demonstrate and progress this mission in the years ahead. He is definitely a superstar and rising star and deserves the recognition.”
Muench added that Faust remains a part-time transit coordinator for Shoreline Metro. “He dispatches and coordinates transit services, including service for students utilizing public transit,” he continued. “Chris is an instrumental link between the Sheboygan Area School District and Shoreline Metro, which has an agreement to provide free student and staff transportation on the public transit system.”
Faust said his day-to-day goal during the school year is to be an engaged partner between their school bus contractor Prigge School Bus Service (a contract that’s been in place since 1970), the schools, administration and parents, while ensuring a seamless transportation experience. He added that his day consists of following up on student behaviors on the bus and patterning with principals when incidents arise.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
One of those principals, Kathryn McKillip, nominated him for the award. “Christopher has been an invaluable member of our team over the past year at Sheboygan Area School District,” she wrote. “Christopher has played a crucial role in reshaping student transportation within our district and has significantly improved our relations with our contractor and families.”
She noted that during challenging times with the school bus driver shortage and long bus ride times, Faust’s “dedication and innovative thinking have been instrumental in enhancing the technology aspect of student transportation,” she continued.
Taking on Technology
Faust said when he first came to Sheboygan Area School District, school buses were equipped with little technology. He said cameras were installed for the time in 2017, but by 2022 it was clear that the systems were outdated.
“Technology changes were needed and that was clearly defined as a goal for transportation,” Faust said. “We felt that it was critical to take advantage of some of these technology solutions for safety, efficiency, and a better driver experience.”
The first change, he said, was to implement GPS on all buses to be able to know where buses were and when they would arrive at their destination. “Within weeks of that being implemented we realized what [a] game changer that was for us and our contractor,” he said. “To go back and confirm that the drivers were making their stops and waited for students that were not present changed the conversation when calls and emails would come in saying that the bus never came.”
He said that being able to validate those instances, that drivers were doing their job, alleviated the push back from drivers on the GPS systems. As they, too, saw the value in the technology.
After implementing GPS, Faust said the district launched parent app Stopfinder through their routing software, Transfinder. “Stopfinder has been an amazing resource for our parents and is another great product that Transfinder offers,” he said.
Zach Moren, sales engineer at Transfinder who submitted a Rising Star nomination, said Faust is always dedicated in finding ways to improve student transportation and safety.
The district’s latest tech adoption has been school bus Wi-Fi. He said Sheboygan Area School District applied for and received the first round of E-Rate funding for school bus Wi-Fi hotpots. Installation took place in August and service went live at the first day of school.
“Over the past year, Mr. Faust has positively restructured the district’s student transportation while improving the relationship with our contractor,” Clarissa Ramos, principal and mentorship coordinator at the district wrote in her nomination of Faust. “I have witnessed better communication and effective partnerships with principals and administration. Technology-wise GPS has been added on all buses, a parent app with live bus tracking. The SASD application for the FCC E-Rate Bus WI-FI was approved. … This is a huge win for our district the goal is to have reduced unwanted behaviors on the bus.”
Next for technology, Faust said the district is installing driver tablets with Transfinder’s Wayfinder, with the first one going live in October. “I’m very excited about that! Lastly next summer we will be upgrading our camera system on all bus to enhance safety and security,” he added. “We are looking at a camera that [we] will be able to view live and has a wide angle lens that we are able to see into the seats on the bus.”
City of Sheboygan’s Muench said Faust is focused on addressing the school bus driver shortage by implementing strategies that make the job more efficient and safer for drivers. “He is hopeful these changes as well as more forthcoming will lead to reliable staffing, more accountability by students and safer operations,” he wrote. “He is also focused on the parent experience giving them the opportunity to interact with school bus service and trust transportation is safe and reliable.”
Principal McKillip added that his technology implementations have not only transformed the school bus into an extension of the classroom but hold the promise of reducing behavioral issues which will create a more conducive learning environment.
“Christoper is so dedicated to our students, he will drive routes on top of all his other job duties, just to ensure they are able to get to school and engage in learning,” she wrote.
Faust confirmed that he drives part-time for their contractor. Like most, Faust said his ongoing challenge has been navigating the school bus driver shortage. “We simply don’t have enough drivers to cover all routes and get our students to and from school within the time frames we would like,” he said, adding they have tired advertising on social media, via direct mailings, billboards, the school district newsletter and even incentivizing coaches to obtain their CDL’s.
Going Forward
Christopher Faust says he looks to continue to support student success, potentially as a transportation director one day.
Faust said his favorite part of his job is knowing that he’s contributing to student success. “Making sure by what I am doing that they are getting to and from safely, that is the most important to me,” he said.
He noted that at some point in his professional career, he would like to become a director of transportation for a district that runs their own buses. “The goals I have within my current role are to keep incorporating technology into transportation, as well as using it to improve processes and procedures,” he said. “Five years from now I want the Sheboygan Area School District to be known with[in] the state of Wisconsin as a leader with technology on our buses.”
He noted that while the profession is difficult and has many challenges, it’s rewarding. “I wish more people could experience it in one [way] or another,” he said. “When I get the opportunity to be behind the wheel of a bus, it’s like everything I do comes full circle, and I appreciate what drivers do day in and day out so much more.”
Outside of work, Faust said he spends time with his two boys, 5 and 8, both who have special needs. He also has a 10-month-old daughter.
When Kayla Miller was a young girl, she helped her father while he managed a motorcoach facility. This experience inspired and motivated her to obtain her commercial driver’s license in 2004. Her transportation career started in a work study program at The University of Iowa as a transit driver. She transitioned to the school bus industry in July 2005.
Miller started her career with school bus contractor Durham School Services for almost 10 years, before becoming the area director of safety with National Express for a year. She worked with DS Bus Lines and National America Central School Bus for about five years, before returning to National Express in the same role.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
As of this month, Miller has logged 20 years in the school bus industry. She has served in a variety of roles relating to safety and operations including area director of safety, safety and training supervisor, assistant contract manager, director of safety and training, safety trainer, dispatcher, student management and data coordinator.
Michelle Simon, vice president of safety compliance for National Express, LLC, said Miller provides safety, education and training for the central and west locations, comprised of over 70 locations.
Kayla Miller has served in a variety of student transportation roles since 2005
“Kayla’s first-hand experience as a driver and driver trainer are core competencies that contribute to her success in being able to relate to front-line driver trainers, providing them the support, knowledge and tools to ensure our drivers are proficient in skills prior to driving passengers,” Simon said. “Her can-do attitude, passion for safety and relentless drive for success shows through in her daily interactions with our team.”
Miller said her day-to-day operations consist of overseeing compliance with OSHA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Transportation, and state and district safety regulations to ensure safe pupil transportation services.
Improved Training
Simon added that this past summer, Miller provided training to over 100 school bus driver trainers in her area. “This recertification is instrumental to ensuring our teams have the most proficient drivers transporting students to and from school each day,” Simon added.
Miller noted that some projects she’s prioritized include safety education on accident and injury analysis, investigation, training and prevention programs. She said she developed and instructed a local defensive driver training program for district staff members, as well as successfully instructed transportation personnel on first aid CPR, crisis intervention, student management training, de-escalation strategies and discipline tracking program. Other projects include a collaboration with Johnson County Safe Kids Coalition program as a certified Child Passenger Safety Restraint Technician developing driving safety community event. Miller also lectured at the State of Iowa Department of Education conference on child passenger safety restraint systems and assisted the Department of Education with a school bus ROADEO competition.
Ongoing projects include the recruitment and onboarding development of new transportation management staff and development of monthly safety topics, messaging and training content for National Express.
Her favorite part of the job, Miller said, is “the enthusiasm and excitement from new transportation staff members upon completion of their training.” Going forward she envisions continual collaboration with team members on the safety and training development of transportation staff members.
Kayla Miller says she prioritizes safety when she’s training school bus drivers.
“Kayla is an under-the-radar type of person, does all that she can to help ensure the success of the teams she supports,” Simon wrote. “She doesn’t look for recognition but takes great pride in the results her area obtains – simply one of the best!”
Miller draws inspiration from a quote attributed to John Elliot, Sr., the former Durham CEO who died last December: “I am responsible for the safety of the students that we transport.”
Outside of work, Miller said she enjoys running, golfing and attending football and baseball games. “I am very honored to be selected as a Rising Superstar. Through the years I have seen the positive impact on the students we transport and the communities that we serve,” she added. “I can honestly say that being in the student transportation industry has been one of the most rewarding experiences and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
David Poag has over 15 years of transportation experience in both pupil transportation and mass transportation. He started as a bus driver for Clemson Area Transit while he was attending college at Clemson University in 2008. He was a multiple time ROADEO driving champion which sparked his interest in the field.
In 2011, he transitioned into the pupil transportation space, serving as the operations and routing coordinator for Anderson School District Five in South Carolina. He served in that role for the next two years before moving to Greenville County Schools to serve as the routing and scheduling coordinator. Greenville is reportedly the largest district in South Carolina with nearly 400 bus routes. During this time, he became a certified director of transportation.
Poag moved back to Anderson in 2021 to become the assistant director of transportation. However, in May 2024 he became the director of transportation for Spartanburg School District 6. Poag and his wife Jennifer, reside in Anderson with their three children ages 5, 7, and 9.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
“No two days in transportation are ever alike,” he said of his day-to-day operations. “The hustle and bustle of daily school bus operations is an environment I love. Every day we are challenged with new opportunities and face situations where we are tested in a multitude of ways.”
He noted that being a part of the transportation department that delivers the nation’s precious cargo daily is his favorite part of his job.
“I learn so much from our staff and it’s such a joy to work with folks from many different backgrounds,” he said, adding that Spartanburg drivers consist of career bus drivers/monitors, airline pilots, air traffic controllers, graphic designers, artists, developers, pastors, first responders, coaches, teachers, retired military, moms, dads, grandparents and more. “Those who drive or serve on a school bus bring with them a unique blend of life experiences and I thoroughly enjoy hearing and learning from them.”
David Poag started his career in pupil transportation as a bus driver and now serves as the Director of Transportation at Spartanburg School District 6, South Carolina.
Data Driven
Teena Mitchell, the special needs coordinator at Greenville County Schools, said she had the pleasure of meeting Poag when he became the routing coordinator at Greenville. She said in her nomination of Poag, that while there he initiated several programs and improved some processes.
“He is an expert on using data to improve processes, from providing data to change bell times, to using data to refresh our driver training program,” she wrote. “He was instrumental in updating our technology in transportation; from expanding our digital footprint to live feed in buses to software and radios.”
Poag added that the bell time change resulted in significant improvements with on-time performance for students at the middle and high school level. Mitchell added that he’s very creative in his training ideas, from using video to train drivers and aides to getting the Clemson Tiger Mascot to work with the district on the school bus demonstrating for elementary students how to safely load, unload and safely ride a bus.
While at Anderson district, Poag said he championed a project that increased the district’s licensing rate of driver candidates to 111 percent. “The same project reduced the amount of time it took to license a candidate by 53 percent,” he said. “These results were a direct impact of the decision to streamline our licensing process and hire candidates as full-time employees during their training.”
Mitchell added that the creative hiring campaign at Anderson consisted of using QR codes, billboards, and even wrapped a car to resemble a school bus. “The hiring data showed his ideas were effective,” she said.
She added that Poag is also a National Association of Pupil Transportation instructor for Professional Development Series (PDS) classes as well as a presenter for professional development at conferences. He currently serves on the PDS Committee with NAPT.
Going Forward
One goal for Spartanburg’s transportation department is to implement new school bus routes to ensure the on-time delivery of their 4,000 students. Additionally, the district will be putting nine new buses on the road this school year, with a district-wide service area for Child Development Centers.
An additional goal is opening a new parking depot, which will house 30 to 40 buses. “In the next five years, I see Spartanburg sustaining a full slate of dedicated transportation professionals and providing exceptional service in order to make a difference [to] one student at a time,” Poag added.
Outside of work, Poag enjoys riding the golf cart with his family and going to country singer Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in Pigeon Ford, Tennessee.
Marlene Martin said she often reflects on the Wendy Tremayne quote, “Start even if you don’t know how.” To Martin, it means to be unafraid of the unknown. “Or let fear of making mistakes put you off from ever starting to learn,” she continued. “I love the energy that comes from discovering new skills. One day you will look back and be able to see how far you have come.”
Martin started her career in pupil transportation 18 years ago. When her daughter was attending kindergarten orientation at Greenwood Lake School District, the school bus driver reviewed the rules of the school bus ride and mentioned the need for more school bus drivers.
“With both my daughters officially enrolled in school, I felt excited to embark on the journey to become a school bus driver, as driving is something I have always been passionate about,” Martin said. “As a bonus, I also love kids, so this perfectly blended two of my interests.”
She started as a substitute bus monitor and driver and now 18 years later she’s the head bus driver. She added that her favorite of her job is the children that transportation is able to support and the co-workers that she gets to work with daily.
“We take the time to recognize each other, including monthly birthday celebrations, often with special themes,” she shared. “As part of our [district’s] Sunshine Committee, we also support each other when a co-worker undergoes surgery, loses a family member, or is just having a rough time. It’s so important to support fellow team members.”
Her daily job duties include answering phone calls from families, dispatching drivers and vehicles for daily routes and trips, routing as needed, and driving a route. She noted that she appreciates the opportunities for continues learning.
Ron MacKey, transportation supervisor for the district, wrote in his nomination that Martin was appointed to her current position about three years ago, during which time she also obtained her 19-A Examiner Certification and School Bus Driver Instructor. He said as an SBDI, she conducts New York State Education Department Pre-Service instruction for drivers and monitors and has been a guest instructor at local Board of Cooperative Educational Services hosted basic courses.
As a state-certified school bus driver instructor, Martin helps lead trainings for both drivers and monitors. She also attends professional development seminars annually to ensure compliance and renew her certification.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
“Marlene actively seeks out opportunities to learn more about the transportation industry,” Mackey wrote. “This year, she attended the New York Association of Pupil Transportation conference in July as well as a pre-conference session on active shooters on the school bus.”
Mackey noted that Martin participates in the local NYAPT chapter (the Tri-County Transportation Supervisors Association) and volunteered to be on its scholarship committee. In 2017, she was chosen as “School Bus Driver of the Year” by the Tri-County Transportation Supervisors Association in two counties.
“As her supervisor, I am honored to have the opportunity to teach her about the industry and watch her become more committed and competent as a transportation professional,” Mackey said. “What impresses me most is the ease with which she has transitioned from bus driver to the role of head bus driver. She has made this transition, complete with the additional responsibilities associated with the role, while managing to maintain personal, yet professional relationships with the drivers and monitors in the department. Her friendly disposition is key to her success in dealing with drivers, parents, school administrators and colleagues in the area.”
Marlene Martin is recognized for her commitment to continued learning.
Going Forward
Martin said she looks forward to enhancing to her skills and continuing to learn and expand her knowledge on school transportation. She noted there are a lot of parts to the job that she does not interact with, such as financial management. “In New York, we have an upcoming EV bus mandate, which is going to be a major challenge,” she said, adding that they will need to learn “about electricity as a fuel, infrastructure and financing these changes, all while running a safe and efficient operation.”
Like other districts, Martin said another current challenge they face the shortage of bus drivers, especially substitute drivers. She noted that the issue complicates their efforts to ensure bus routes and trips are staffed.
“This year, we have temporarily displaced families residing outside their district, and it is crucial that we address their needs and ensure timely transportation to school,” she shared. “The calm may come before the storm, but the rebuilding comes afterward. It’s the long-term support after an emergency that’s most challenging.”
Outside of work, Martin enjoys nature, whether that consists of a walk, an early morning yoga class, lounging by the pool with a book, or going camping. Mackey added that Martin has also been a Girl Scout leader, community volunteer with the local food pantry and provides foster care for local animal shelters.
Valerie Williams said two quotes help her shaped her days. “With God all things are possible,” and “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Prior to transitioning into the public sector of pupil transportation, Williams spent 20 years in corporate America working in human resources management and customer service for companies such as the Austin Police Department, Dell Inc., Westinghouse Motor Company, Bank of the Hills and LaPetite Academy.
She said her pupil transportation career started in November 2011 as a crossing guard for Parkside Elementary School. At the time she owned her own wedding planning business and needed some extra cash for a vacation to New York.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
She shared that her husband Terry is a school bus driver, trainer and third-arty examiner for Leander ISD transportation. He was the one who suggested to Williams that she come work for transportation as a school bus driver.
“But the bus is too big for me so in February of 2012, I joined the team as a bus monitor, which is what we were called back in those days,” she shared, adding that during this time she assisted the special needs router with processing the legal transportation documents.
Then, in June 2015, she was hired on as the part-time routing assistant to replace someone retiring. “In that role I had the privilege of working side by side with Tracie Franco, the full-time special needs router at that time and now the senior director of Leander ISD transportation,” Williams said.
She noted that over the years she transitioned from part-time to full time and progressed to senior router. As the senior router, she said her job consists of overseeing the daily performance of general and special education routers as well as field trip specialists. She also identifies opportunities for improvement, defines processes and puts systems in place to help the routing and transportation department manage the complexities of the operation. She is also the project manager for the teams responsible for the relaunch of transportation’s website, the implementation of the district’s Register to Ride bus registration process and documenting transportation’s standard operating procedures.
Valerie Williams was recognized for her commitment to creating more efficient operating systems and being proactive regarding transportation’s needs
“There are many things that I enjoy about my job,” she said. “First and foremost is working with a fantastic team. If I must pick the favorite part of my job, I would have to say that creating systems to improve processes so that everything operates like a well-oiled machine is very satisfying.”
Register to Ride
Williams explained that in an effort to “enhance security, ensure the safety of our students and staff, and improve the efficiency of our routes, we launched a new registration program for transportation.” For the first time this school year and in the history of Leander ISD, Williams said all eligible bus riders (new and returning) who wish to utilize transportation to and/or from school are now required to register for the service. She explained that they partnered with administrators, campus personnel, parents and Hillary Robbins, the regional partnership director at K12 Insight to launch a new and improved Transportation website using the Let’s Talk platform for the Register to Ride bus registration process.
“In the transportation industry as a whole, when someone wants to travel whether it is by plane, train, cruise ship, metro bus or rail, they are required to make a reservation or register to ride,” she explained.
In the past, she said routes for students with disabilities were based on actual riders, whereas routes for general education students were created for eligible riders. This year, general education routes will also be created based on actual riders.
She explained that by requiring registration, transportation can ensure that all riders have been registered and are approved riders. Other benefits are only actual riders have been assigned to bus stops and staff can now quickly identify when a bus is approaching its maximum seating capacity, thus limiting the number of over-crowded buses that the district previously experiences at the start of the year.
Williams added that staff also leveraged K12 Insight’s Let’s Talk platform to revamp its transportation process. Benefits include having all the Register to Ride information in one location, directly on LISD transportation website and allowing parents/guardians to register from the convenience of their home.
She added that registration forms are then loaded into Let’s Talk, which allows the customer to change the content into the language of their preference. Leander ISD transportation has 13 different languages available in their forms to better improve the customer experience.
“In the past, campus personnel submitted bus service request forms, on behalf of the parents, to the routing department,” Williams shared. “With those submissions we found that very often, parents were either not ready to start transportation, or they wanted service only in the mornings or only in the afternoons or vice versa.”
By using Let’s Talk, she said transportation is are putting the power in the hands in the parents and guardians to register when they are ready to use transportation for their children and can communicate with transportation directly what service they need.
“Over the years we have observed that since the routing department is responsible for assigning students to bus routes, some people think that routing is responsible ‘for everything,’” she added. “However, that’s not true. In addition to drivers and bus assistants, we have a team of professional staff members who play a major role in pupil transportation including administrative assistants, assistant directors, dispatchers, mechanics, team leaders, technology systems specialists and trainers. Through Let’s Talk’s ability to support two-way communications, our customers (external and internal) can ask questions and share feedback while having the confidence that their question, concern or comment is getting to the right person in the right department.”
Hillary Robins, an ed tech specialist with K12 Insight, wrote in her nomination of Williams that she consistently demonstrates innovation, attention to detail and a deep passion to their community and team.
“Valerie’s commitment to finding more efficient uses of technology, including implementing a customer service platform for their transportation department, has greatly enhanced the services provided to families, showcasing her dedication to excellence and continuous improvement,” Robins wrote. “She has transformed their transportation department with the use of AI and by building registration forms to automate incoming inquiries. Additionally, she has effectively leveraged their customer service platform to monitor sentiment across the transportation department, ensuring a proactive approach to addressing community needs.”
Williams said internal and external communications go through Let’s Talk, plus they are dated and time-stamped so staff is better able to keep track of the conversations. The feature will allow the district to eliminate the need to monitor several different email accounts, as well as copy and pasted comments from various emails.
Challenges Amid School Start Up
Williams said one of the biggest challenges the routing department faced amid school start up was processing registrations that were submitted after the June 14th deadline. She noted they are a small team of 10, consisting of one routing supervisor, two senior routers, two general transportation routers, two special transportation routes, two field trip specialists and one field trip/routing assistant, that have to manage 11,000 active riders.
“With a shortage of drivers, our routers also are driving routes morning and/or afternoon so this limits the amount of time that they have at their desk to be able to process registrations and assign students to routes,” she said.
She noted the team is working to combat this with an “all-hands-on-deck” mentality. “In addition to the routing team, our administrative assistants, drivers, dispatchers, assistant directors, even our senior director of transportation have jumped in to help get students assigned to bus routes,” Williams said.
Department Goals
Williams added her goal is to ensure that 100 percent of Leander’s riders are registered. Additionally, she hopes to continue to collaborate with the K12 Insight team to find more creative solutions through Let’s Talk to help transportation streamline and automate its current processes. Other goals include continuing to improve the customer service experience and to look for opportunities to “work smarter, not harder.”
Finally, she said for the next school year she wants to enhance the Register to Ride campaign, with the goal of having 95 percent of riders Registered to Ride by this coming June 1.
Outside of LISD transportation, Williams said her and her husband enjoy volunteering with their ministry by conducting Bible study sessions with individuals, couples and families in their community. She also enjoys crafting, gardening, interior decorating, painting furniture and DIY projects.
Read the profiles on the Rising Stars in the November issue of School Transportation News.
Police in Hillsborough, New Jersey, will be hosting a food driver “stuff the bus” this holiday season.
The Hillsborough Township Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 205 shared news on its social media confirming that a food drive will be hosted on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to provide food for those who are in need.
According to local news report, members of the Township Police will be outside the ShopRite supermarket at Nelson’s Corner shopping center, Route 206, days before the event to collect donations from shoppers.
Residents who will collaborate are being asked to purchase non-perishable items to fill the bus with essentials. A yellow school bus will be parked outside the store as donations are being dropped off. The school bus will then be driven back to the Community Assistance Network facility, where donations will be unloaded and prepared for distribution.
Mitzii Smith said the quote, “Challenge yourself forward,” inspired her to not only step outside her comfort zone but to motivate herself in ways she never thought were possible.
“Always moving forward, setting and working toward achieving new goals,” said Smith, the assistant director of transportation for Maine School Administrative District (MSAD) 6.
Smith started her career in pupil transportation when her oldest child was starting school. She said a sign at the kindergarten registration read, “School Bus Drivers Needed! The perfect job for parents of school aged children.”
She admitted that at that time she had no idea answering the call to apply to become a school bus driver would become a career that would span decades and become a passion.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
Sarah Marean, the director of transportation for MSAD #6, said in her Rising Star nomination of Smith that in addition to driving a regular route, Smith served as a school bus safety instructor for Yellow Classroom and a lead driver.
She then moved into the office, first as administrative assistant and now as the assistant director transportation.
“Since assuming a managerial position in this department Mitzii has proven herself to be a force for change and innovation,” Marean wrote.
Smith is currently going on her 20th year in transportation.
MSAD 6 has one of the largest fleets in the state of Maine, consisting of 63 total school buses. The district serves an area of 182 square miles in southern part of the state for the towns of Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Standish, and Frye Island.
Read all 2024 Rising Stars profiles in the November issue of School Transportation News.
The transportation department that operates out of the consists of 50 school bus drivers, nine bus monitors, three mechanics and an office staff of six. The route school buses traveling over 5,000 miles a day serving over 3,200 students across six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
“We pride ourselves on having made a commitment to propane powered buses, with our fleet now running at 80 percent propane,” Smith added. “We recently installed an 18,000-gallon propane tank and filling station at our facility, and proudly became the first and largest delivery of renewable propane in the Northeast. Further solidifying our commitment to green energy efforts in student transportation.”
Mitzii Smith looks to foster safety for the school environment, including the school bus, through her role as a school safety specialist.
This year, Smith also became a Maine school safety specialist, part of a program offered through the Department of Education. The program “focuses on creating safer schools through training, guidance and technical support for the whole school and the whole student,” the Maine DOE website states.
Smith noted that while transportation plays a key role in the school environment, it is often left out of the planning process as it pertains to school safety. “I wanted to bring awareness of the vital role transportation plays,” she said.
Additionally, Smith initiated a collaboration between transportation and Maine DOE speech pathologist Kellie Doyle-Bailey, to learn about the brain science behind emotional intelligence. Marean noted that the collaboration was focused on bringing elements of social and emotional learning to the driver’s seat.
“With the thought that safety begins first with the person behind the wheel remaining present, calm and in control of their own emotions and able to respond to situations as they arise,” she continued.
Smith added, “Our team is the first (and only) transportation department in the state of Maine to focus on prioritizing the individual behind the wheel, to help support them in their daily tasks,” she continued. “We have been able to present at multiple state conferences, sharing our initial success. We are trailblazing new ideas in our state, and hope that it continues to gain momentum in our industry.”
Smith is also an active member of the National Association of Pupil Transportation, serving on two standing committees: Certification and the School Bus Safety Poster Contest. She’s working toward her professional certification as a director of pupil transportation, or CDPT. She is also an active member of the Maine Association of Pupil Transportation, holding the position of president-elect.
Challenges Amid School Start Up
Smith said one of the greatest challenges amid school start-up is ensuring that transportation is finding the most efficient ways to utilize all of its resources.
“After several years of being short staffed, it seems that has now become the norm,” she said. “It requires outside the box thinking, to make sure that nothing falls between the cracks. Our team does a fantastic job of making sure that we meet all the challenges we are faced with.”
Despite the challenges in student transportation, Smith said her favorite part of the job is the impact that her co-workers have on the children they transport. “Drivers and monitors are [a] consistent part of a child’s school day,” she said. “A genuine smile, and ‘Good morning’ really does have the power to shape a child’s whole day!”
Mitzii Smith began her career 20 years ago as a school bus driver when her oldest child was starting school.
Looking to the Future
Going forward, Smith said her goal is to continue to bring new ideas to the department. “Although I see the value in, ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it’ I also recognize the importance of seeking out new ways, and not being intimidated by change,” she said. “Being open to change is vital in our ever changing environment.”
She added that she plans to continue the work that she’s started in SEL to ensure drivers and monitors understand their value. “In five years, I see our team continuing to build on prior successes,” she said. “Encouraging continued learning, seeking new training opportunities, and encouraging certifications. Knowledge is power!”
Outside of work, Smith said she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves music, concerts, taking photos and cooking. She noted that her and husband Tim enjoy traveling with their children, who are now adults, having adventures and creating memories.
“The work will still be here tomorrow,” is a phrase Cassidy Miller keeps in mind when working in the oftentimes demanding and stressful world of student transportation.
Miller said if a day seems really overwhelming or if multiple tasks are thrown her way, she reminds herself that it’s okay to complete them the next day. “The work we do is one big yearlong project at a time, and most things can hang on for one more day,” she shared. “Work/life balance is hard when you’re so passionate about the work you do and feel like you can give 110 percent each day. Remembering all this helps save my sanity and avoid too much overworking some days.”
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
Miller started in pupil transportation at a much younger age than most. She served as an office assistant for her school district in eighth grade. However, her love of the school bus started long before that.
“I was the student who rode in the front seat, listened to the two-way radio, and had conversations with my bus driver all the way to school,” she shared. “I loved the processes I sort of knew from bus riding and the radio, but when I saw the inside operations, I was hooked. From that moment on my career goals switched to becoming a transportation director and have not changed since.”
In the 12th grade her family moved, and Miller attended a new district that offered a high school internship class with local businesses and organizations. Her district itself wasn’t looking for interns, so she emailed 14 transportation directors at surrounding districts asking for a job.
She said her current director at Snohomish School District replied very quickly. “I worked almost every day February to June of 2021 as a busy intern learning the ropes and being an extra support,” she said, adding that after high school graduation she was hired full time as a substitute router/dispatcher. Miller even took her senior photos in front of the yellow school buses.
Three years after her internship completed, she said she became a contracted employee with her current role being an administrative assistant, router and dispatcher. While she’s officially been in pupil transportation three and half years, she said seven years ago she made the decision to bleed yellow forever.
Miller wasn’t able to obtain her commercial driver’s license until this school year, when she turned 21. Her day-to-day operations consist of managing daily payroll, which is mixed in among all other tasks that pop up randomly, especially dispatch or phone calls. She said her afternoon consists of mostly dispatch and monitoring or setting up rides with the district’s car service contractors. She she anticipates using her CDL this school year to drive routes alongside other office staff and mechanics because Snohomish is short drivers.
When asked her favorite part of the job, Miller said it’s the different challenge each day.
“The same thing gets boring really quick,” she said. “In transportation you can plan for some things, but never know what will come across the radio that will [cause] you to act.”
Becoming a CPST
Despite helping oversee 90 routes, 39 drivers, four mechanics and working for a district that covers an area of 128-square miles, Kimberly Loughlin, an independent contractor working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Safety Council, said it’s Miller’s child passenger safety technician delineation that prompted the Rising SuperStars award nomination.
Cassidy Miller wears many hats at her transportation operations, including administration, routing and dispatching
“Cassidy at a young age had a passion for child passenger safety,” Loughlin wrote, adding that she first met Miller at age 19. “Cassidy volunteered to help us with media for some national training. Her willingness to volunteer months of her time to help photo and video example footage for us was crucial to the curriculum. Cassidy worked hand-in-hand with a national school bus expert to assist with training videos and photos for the NHTSA/NSC Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training.”
Loughlin added that Miller helped arrange resources and child-size dolls used when practicing securement. She even drove to another state to obtain a photo. “Cassidy has added a specialty in school bus transportation to her CPST certification,” Loughlin wrote. “She continues to volunteer her time as a CPST to her community, as well as attend school bus safety initiatives and conventions. I so admire her dedication and passion as a volunteer.”
Miller expanded, adding that as soon as she was 18, she was excited to persue becoming a CPST, “to finally have a certification to go with my love of car seats and safety,” she said.
She noted that instead of family vehicles, she focused on school bus courses and child safety restraints.
“A year later I saw on social media an ask for school bus curriculum photo contributors,” she continued. “I sent off an excited email hoping I could be selected, and it turns out I was one of very few. Having full access to my fleet for photos and getting to work with the amazing [Safe Ride News Editor and Publisher] Denise Donaldson (we are only about 35 miles apart) made contributing to the new curriculum photos/videos such a great success. I am so proud of the content created and grateful for all my helpers (younger siblings, cousins, and neighbors) who were students for photo purposes. I am thrilled to be finally certified to teach the Child Passenger Safety on School Buses course I spent so much time contributing to.”
Another project she’s working on includes a four-year Washington state program, Pupil Transportation Management Training Program. Miller noted that each year a final project is required, something that benefits one’s department. She’s wrapping up her third year in the program, and her project is related to contracted car service providers and inclement weather planning.
Miller said her next certification goal is obtaining the Safe Travel for all Children (STAC), which is geared toward selecting restraints for students with medical conditions. She said she looks forward to continuing to work toward administrative roles in transportation, hoping to land a supervisory role. Her boyfriend also works in student transportation, 120 miles away, so she anticipates settling down with him in the future.
“My goals looking forward are to keep working toward administrative roles in transportation,” she said. “I love the operations and plan to keep growing my skills and experience then see where these take me in Washington. It will be exciting to just see how things play out in the future.”
Challenge at School Start Up
One challenge at school start up that Miller noted was due to staffing and managing all the district routes day to day. She noted that during the summer, Snohomish had more retirees than expected with only few substitute drivers trained and ready for routes.
“It will be another year of office and mechanics filling in routes frequently,” she noted.
Cassidy Miller helps oversee 90 routes at Snohomish School District
Outside of work, Miller’s main activity is supporting the non-profit organization Emma’s Exceptional Equipment Exchange, which helps families who have children with disabilities donate or receive medical supplies/equipment. She said she serves as a lead volunteer and her service area consists of eight counties and a couple hundred miles. “I keep busy coordinating plans or on the road to pick up items/ meet with families as needed,” she said.
Read the profiles on the Rising Stars in the November issue of School Transportation News.
Protesters march in Milwaukee after the 2024 presidential election. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
“Our strategy is year-round civic organizing,” Amanda Avalos, executive director of Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) told Wisconsin Examiner, following the Nov. 5 election won by President-elect Donald Trump. LIT canvassers knocked on more than 665,000 doors ahead of Election Day, and the Milwaukee-based group plans to keep up its civic engagement work in the years ahead. “This doesn’t stop us,” Avalos said of the election results. “And if anything, this is fueling.”
LIT, a grassroots nonprofit and nonpartisan group led by youth of color, focuses on building political power for young people through strategic civic engagement. From canvassing neighborhoods and knocking on doors, to advocating for policy change or even preparing young people to run for office, recent years have seen the organization make a name for itself.
Amanda Avalos
It isn’t that LIT’s staff didn’t feel the waves of fear, anger, and despair many community members experienced after Trump’s victory Tuesday. Those emotions were familiar to LIT organizers. “This is not the first time that we’ve been under a Trump administration,” said Avalos. “And we know the direct negative impact that he has on the communities that we work with. And that’s young Black and brown people in the state of Wisconsin.”
LIT plans to counteract that impact by staying organized and motivated. From advocacy efforts to leadership development, sustained organizing is LIT’s mission, said Avalos, explaining that the group is dedicated to “growing our base year-round in between election seasons — not just during election season, but for moments like these…where we need to mobilize and act.”
LIT is already preparing for another big election on April 1, when voters in Wisconsin cast ballots in the state Supreme Court race.
Meanwhile, Avalos says, organizers need to take time to rest, process, grieve, regroup and find community. “That’s what it’s going to take to get through more moments like this,” Avalos told Wisconsin Examiner. “That’s what it took last time, and we continue to hold onto each other and continue to move fiercely with our plan, with our advocacy, with all the ways that young people are leading all across the state.”
The election was particularly divisive for young people. While Harris attracted many young women voters of color, Trump attracted more young men. Some young activists also expressed dissatisfaction at both major political parties. On Nov. 6, protesters gathered in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park to protest the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and express their frustration over the sense that they were ignored by the Democratic Party. The protest was led by groups including Students for a Democratic Society UWM, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee. Speakers encouraged protesters to find an organization to join and get involved.
Protesters march in Milwaukee after the 2024 presidential election. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
Avalos agrees that young people feel ignored. “More than ever young people are frustrated,” she said. “The lack of social-economic progress, not being heard at the local decision-making levels — local government, state government and federal government. … There’s a lot of disillusionment, disappointment, frustration, completely valid.” Avalos has heard young people express their sense of powerlessness on issues including the war in Gaza, climate change, the cost of living, housing, tuition and gun violence, as elected officials have failed to remedy those concerns. “Those issues continue to be a priority, and we’re not at the point where we see that reflected in policy and law,” she said.
Avalos told Wisconsin Examiner that LIT will be back at the doors soon, engaging with communities and asking them what they want to to see from their elected leaders. Avalos stressed that connecting the issues that affect people’s families and communities to voting helps impress on people why it’s important to show up at the ballot box. LIT will focus on getting more citizens engaged in school board meetings, common council meeting and public hearings in the state Legislature.
As people process the fallout from the November election, Avalos said she hopes that people will support one another and remember what motivates them. “At the end of the day, it’s not because of anything more than we love each other,” she said of LIT’s continuing work, “and we need know that we all deserve better.”
Marty Marks said it can be easy to get frustrated with the student riders when they don’t behave on the school bus. But he added that each day, students have a fresh start as they head to school.
Similarly, he said there is no place for transportation staff holding grudges or passing judgement. “Every day is a new day,” he added, echoing his favorite quote.
Marks started in the school transportation industry in 2005, when he became a school bus driver for his children’s school events. He started driving part-time for Neosho School District in Missouri as well as driving trips for four years. Marks then moved over 250 miles to the east, to St. Louis, where he worked for 10 years at First Student as a safety manager, later becoming a location manager. In 2019, he moved back to Neosho to serve as the director of transportation, a role he’s held since.
Marty Marks says he enjoys interacting and listening to the student bus riders.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
“Listening to the younger students,” he said of his favorite part of his job and what’s kept in the industry for 20 years. “Students have imaginations and want to share their thoughts. Students need adult attention and that’s what truly makes the job enjoyable.”
Jim Davis, the superintendent of schools for Neosho, wrote in his nomination that Marks has made significant contributions to enhance the safety, mobility and sustainability at the district. Davis said Marks leads a team of around 70 employees and substitutes and excels in fostering culture within district transportation as a whole.
“This is demonstrated by his staff retention and training opportunities provided on-site to best serve the needs of NSD,” Davis wrote. “Furthermore, under Marty’s leadership, area schools have participated in the annual bus rodeo, hosted at NSD. This annual bus driving and bus maintenance competition provides area schools the opportunity to showcase their skills.”
Safety
Davis said one priority for Marks has been achieving a high school bus inspection rating of 90 percent or greater, as scored by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Additionally, the district has earned the Exemplary School Bus Maintenance Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, recognizing a decade of excellent inspection scores.
“During the school year, Marty and his team also conduct on-site bus safety training with our students,” Davis continued. “The purpose is to educate all students within the Neosho School District bus safety and behavior expectations, regardless of if they are a daily rider.”
Prior to the new school year, Davis noted that a bus camp is also hosted, which provides new students an opportunity to tour the school bus, learn how to be responsible and safe on and around the bus, meet the drivers and take a ride on the bus. “The purpose of the bus camp is to help ease some anxiety that may come with being a new student daily rider and best prepare them for the first day of school,” Davis added.
Mobility
To ensure efficiency, Davis said Marks implemented new routing software from Transfinder. Marks noted that previously routing was a manual paper process, and the department was depending on drivers to route themselves.
Davis added that the purpose of implementing the software was to make the routes more efficient. And since implementation, NSD was able to eliminate a couple routes. “NSD runs approximately 50 different daily routes, not including extracurricular activities. Our district is located in the rural southwest corner of Missouri, where the longest route is an hour and a half and spans across two counties,” Davis said of district size.
Sustainability
Davis said NSD has a diverse fleet of diesel, gasoline and propane school buses. Marks said the diversification allows the district to utilize fuel prices to the best of their abilities.
“The purpose of the diverse fleet is to ensure the buses serve the district in the most efficient way to provide safety, cost savings and sustainability,” Davis wrote.
He provided an example, in which the district transported students to an extracurricular event that was three hours away.
“Marty instructed his team to drive the gasoline buses because the temperatures were expected to be dangerously cold,” he recalled. “A diesel bus driven by our neighboring school district would not start due to the weather, and rather than leaving students three hours away from home, our buses brought those students back and dropped them off at their school. Having a diverse fleet is not the norm within school districts, and we are thankful to have these buses to best serve students.”
Challenges
Marty Marks, director of transportation at Neosho School District in Missouri, is fostering team culture through implementation of safety practices and technology.
Marks said one of the biggest challenges at school startup is accurate student information, as many students move in and out of the district frequently. Having accurate student rosters is critical, he said. Additionally, he said, many students do not speak English, which is another challenge that transportation navigates.
“We are also currently using our ParentSquare system to send out mass messaging to help improve parent communications, by sending transportation information directly to parent emails,” he added.
Marks said the goal for the transportation department is to continue to improve its facility. “We want our facility to be among the best,” he said. “This will help to retain drivers.”
One way to do that is implementing a fueling software to better track fuel usage. Plus, he said NSD wants to continue purchasing buses with air conditioning as students are accustomed to it, and it’s better when there are high heat temperatures.
On a personal note, outside of work, Marks said he enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and working around the house.
“Everything we do here impacts the life of a child” is Joshua Wilson daily mantra.
“I personally had my life turned around because of the intervention of my childhood bus driver (shoutout to Ted Bair), so I know how much a good driver can matter,” added Wilson, one of this month’s Rising Stars who is featured in the November edition of School Transportation News magazine. “Conversely, when drivers do a bad job, setting up adversarial situations, berating students, or getting emotionally drawn into saying or doing things that are harmful, it can be very damaging to students’ ability to be successful in the classroom.”
Wilson started his career in pupil transportation as a special needs school bus driver for Teton County School District in Wyoming in September 2008. He served in this role for nine years before moving to Colorado to become a CDL examiner for Durango School District and the surrounding districts, as well as any CDL applicant in southwest Colorado including: Budweiser, Coca Cola, whitewater companies, logging trucks, and lumber delivery companies. Four and a half years ago he and his family moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he became the transportation supervisor for Vail School District — marking 16 years in pupil transportation.
Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.
In September, Wilson accepted a job offer from Specialized Education Services, Inc., as the national director of student transportation. Specialized Education Services operates over 95 schools and in 90 district classrooms across the U.S., with a focus on students who need academic, emotional, social and behavior support. Not all schools operating transportation, but Wilson will oversee the ones that do. He is responsible for the transportation of all alternative vehicles, from vans to minibuses. He also oversees training, compliance and KPI monitoring for schools in multiple states.
STN spoke with Wilson regarding his previous responsibilities at Vail School District, as he hadn’t started at Specialized Education Services at the time of being interviewed.
“I love to serve others, both our staff, and our community,” he said of his favorite part of the job, adding that while a supervisor isn’t always a fun job, it’s rewarding. “Helping set up staff for success is something that really gives me joy. Every time I see one of our drivers behind the wheel of their first route, I feel proud of what we have been able to do for them.”
He added that if transportation can provide a safe, respectful and nurturing environment for students, then they can arrive at school ready to learn. “I’m very passionate about the importance of pupil transportation, and I really work hard to instill that passion in our staff,” he continued. “I like to refer to bus drivers as the offensive line of a school district. It’s not a sexy job, and it doesn’t get all the praise and shine of the quarterback, but no team can win a Super Bowl without good linemen. When a school excels, receives awards or accolades, we like to celebrate that with our staff because those are our awards too.”
Updating Training
Some recent projects Wilson worked on for Vail School District was ramping up the district’s training program, ending the driver shortage at Vail and renewing their focus on providing exceptional service to families with special needs. In terms of revamping training, he said transportation created its own proprietary training manuals and materials, and the shop staff built training models and cutaways to help new trainees understand the challenging inspection items.
Joshua Wilson became the national director of student transportation at Specialized Education Services, Inc., after previously supervising transportation for Vail School District in Tucson, Arizona.
“Once we dialed in the format under the new [entry-level driver training] regulations, we were able to share that program with other smaller districts who were not as fortunate,” he shared, adding that they provide CDL training, consulting, and examination services to 23 school districts, tribal and government entities.
“We have also developed several fresh and contemporary presentations so that staff, both new and experienced, will be exposed to recent, relevant, and realistic training each year,” Wilson continued. “We are currently working on additional training models and technologies like training aps, augmented reality and A.I.”
Jerry Brown, Vail’s director of transportation, said that under Wilson’s supervision the district training program underwent a “remarkable transformation.” Brown said that Wilson was “instrumental in ushering in the FMCSA’s ELDT regulations that fundamentally changed the way we trained not only our own bus driver trainees but several others from neighboring school districts,” he wrote in his nomination. “Joshua has introduced comprehensive, hands-on training modules that encompass not only the technical aspects of bus operation but also the critical components of student safety and well-being.”
Brown said Wilson integrated state-of-the-art technology and real-life scenarios to help ensure that drivers are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to handle any situation with confidence and competence. “His efforts have resulted in a noticeable improvement in driver performance, safety records, and overall satisfaction among our staff and students,” Brown noted.
Navigating the Driver Shortage
To combat the driver shortage, Wilson said Vail district personal worked to attract high quality people to provide a positive, healthy and supportive environment for the entire staff.
“We are proud to be one of the few districts in our area not to operate with a shortage,” Wilson said. “Starting with all of us on the management team being focused on bringing in only the highest quality people, giving them great training, paying a competitive wage, and giving them a great place to work. One of the things I like to tell applicants is that we can train anyone to be a bus driver, but we can’t train someone to have a good work ethic, to have a calling to serve their community, and to be focused on providing for the needs of our students.”
He said that being a school bus driver is too important of a job, to just “hire anybody.” Instead, he noted that it takes someone “really special to be a bus driver for us.”
Working with Special Needs Students
When transporting Vail students with special needs, Wilson said transportation worked to develop a close working relationship with the district’s SPED staff and medical team. “Our SPED drivers are well informed of their students’ behaviors and conditions,” he said. “I know that a lot of districts have issues getting information regarding IEPs, but we have worked really hard to improve that. We have a great relationship with the case managers and behavior specialists in our district, and have constant communication with school medical staff regarding student conditions and medication.”
Additionally, he said transportation provides monthly training, individualized medical training and behavior management training to all SPED staff. Brown said in his nomination that working with the special needs’ bus team has been one of Wilson’s most significant achievements. “Recognizing the unique challenges faced by these students, Joshua has implemented specialized training programs tailored to the needs of both the special needs drivers and the students they transport,” Brown wrote, adding that Wilson has fostered a culture of empathy, patience, and understanding with his team, ensuring that every student receives the care and attention they deserve. “Additionally, Joshua has collaborated with parents, school staff, and special education professionals to ensure that our department carries out individualized transportation plans that prioritize safety, comfort, and consistency for our special needs students.”
Navigating Challenges
Wilson said one challenge and benefit is that Vail operates on a year-round schedule. In terms of training and the special education department teams, he said the biggest challenge is getting everyone up and running in time for the first day, which was July 15 this year.
“Our trainers and training coordinator were working hard to get new drivers ready for the new year, not only for us, but for two of our surrounding smaller districts that we trained drivers for over the summer,” he shared. “The new drivers were practicing dry runs of routes and doing everything they could to be prepared for kids. Our SPED team only has about two weeks to route and communicate out to parents regarding the hundreds of curb-to-curb requests that we receive every year.”
Personally, he said, he works to develop new driver presentations each year so that they have a fresh, valuable training to look forward to each in-service. “Year round schooling has a ton of advantages, but it also gives us a truncated period of time to prepare each year,” he added.
Going forward, Wilson said Vail’s goal is to continue to the raise the bar for pupil transportation and help to put the word “professional” in transportation professionals. By sharing training programs with neighboring districts, he noted that they are a lighthouse district to smaller districts that don’t have the facilities and resources to invest in expensive training, professional speakers or full-time trainers and examiners.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our communication, and the quality of what we do for our community,” he said.
While he has moved on, Wilson said the next five years will show tremendous growth in the Vail community, and in the service provided to parents and students. “I see us providing training presentations to schools across Arizona, and even states beyond,” he added. “I see our transportation department being at the forefront of service, communication, and quality in Arizona, the same way our district is in the education space.”
He noted that Vail School District will open a new school, which will bring in additional busing, staff and families to their communities, along with the logistical challenges that come with it. “Tucson is experiencing tremendous growth, and it is exciting to be a part of,” he shared.
Brown concluded his nomination by stating that Wilson embodies the qualities of a true leader.
“His proactive approach to problem-solving, well-crafted training programs, and his unwavering commitment to excellence has inspired the entire transportation team,” he wrote. “He has encouraged open communication, teamwork, and continuous improvement, creating an environment where team members feel valued and empowered. Through his innovative ideas and strategic vision, Joshua has contributed significantly to the setting of a new standard for school transportation management in our district.”
On a personal level, Wilson’s oldest daughter is starting college, his son is a junior in high school, and his youngest daughter was in middle school at Arizona State Schools for Deaf and Blind.
“It makes for a pretty busy schedule,” Wilson shared of life outside of work. “My wife and I also enjoy selling herbs and seasonings at our local farmer’s market. When things aren’t so busy, I love going up in the mountains above Tucson. It reminds me a little of being back in Wyoming again.”
Read the profiles on the Rising Stars in the November issue of School Transportation News.
Tents around King Park in Milwaukee. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
Milwaukee County Supv. Shawn Rolland is calling on board supervisors to support allocating more funds to help people living unhoused. The additional $500,000 in Housing Division funding would come from an amendment to the 2025 county budget, and help unhoused residents to find stable shelter and resources.
The call comes during Homeless Awareness Week, which ends Nov. 2. Rolland noted that the county has relied on pandemic-era funds to help underserved residents find stable housing. “If there are insufficient Flexible Housing Pool funds, the Housing Division will not have the tools they need to help,” Rolland said in a statement. “With rent and mortgage costs up by 31% and 43% respectively, many people are facing severe housing insecurity, including some who are homeless for the first time in their lives.” Currently, unlike some other cities nationwide, Milwaukee has no “safe camping” initiatives, which designate areas where unhoused people can camp for the time being.
Both county and nonprofit outreach teams have encountered growing numbers of people living outside who’ve never been unhoused before. Recently, that trend reached a fever pitch after local and state authorities closed Park & Ride lots due to safety concerns, stemming from the growing communities of people living in the lots. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported that between July 1 and September 30 of this year, there were 275 calls for service to the lots, including for assaults, thefts and overdoses.
The outreach group Street Angels reports that over a two year period, the number of unhoused people they serve has increased by 120%. In July, during the Republican National Convention, out-of-state police killed a man living unhoused in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood. The proposed amendment would carry no tax levy impact, according to county records. The amendment would specifically focus on people living unhoused who have “exigent housing needs.”
“For those recently forced to leave local park-and-ride lots, this means contemplating living in the woods, under bridges, or other precarious places,” Rolland stated. “This situation is a tragedy, and we must act to prevent it.” The county supervisor fears that although Milwaukee has made “significant investments ‘up the funnel’ to prevent homelessness in the future,” the current framework of the 2025 budget lacks “support for those in immediate crisis.”
Supvs. Jack Eckblad, Juan Miguel Martinez, Sky Z. Capriolo, Felesia Martin, Caronline Gomez-Tom and Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones signed on as amendment cosponsors. Recently, the county board approved $250,000 to fund a right to counsel program for tenants facing eviction, in an effort to help curb some of the housing crisis.
On the bustling mornings of Northport, New York, Kayla Soliman’s heart would race as she stood at the edge of the driveway, eyeing the big yellow school bus.
The second grader, just 7 years old during the fall of 2022, struggled with anxiety after watching her younger sister, Kelsey, get sick during the school bus ride home in Suffolk County on Long Island. Despite her mother Lindsey’s efforts, nothing seemed to ease Kayla’s fears. For an entire school year, Kayla avoided the school bus ride, her trepidation growing with each passing day.
But one person saw her struggle and decided to help.
Margaret Hall, affectionately known as “Miss Margaret” by her young riders, had been driving for contractor Huntington Coach for seven years and knew the importance of making each child feel safe. Sensing Kayla’s hesitation, Hall didn’t just sit back. She began to offer small gestures—a warm smile, reserving a seat in the front row, gentle words of encouragement.
“We need to be proactive in having a good attitude, helping their day start off correctly,” Hall explained.
Inspired by Kayla’s story, Hall decided to take her approach a step further. School Transportation News asked Hall what led her to write her children’s book “Why Does My Heart Go Thump When I See The Bus?” Margaret’s son David Hall provides the illustrations.
“Through the months of trying to help and encourage Kayla to return to riding the bus, the story formed in my mind, and I had to write it down,” she shared.
For Kayla, Hall’s gestures, and eventually the book, made all the difference. When Hall handed the girl a draft of the book, it marked the moment Kayla decided to step onto the school bus again.
“I got emotional,” Kayla’s mom Lindsey recalled.
“Kayla has now been an encouragement to her fellow-riders,” Hall proudly added.
Hall’s book has since become more than just a story—it’s a tool helping children across Long Island, New York, confront their fears. Hall has sold thousands of copies, many of which are distributed to local school districts free of charge. It’s an initiative that underscores a simple yet profound truth: A bus driver’s role goes beyond transporting students. It’s about guiding them through moments of uncertainty.
Brendan Clifford, vice president of operations for Huntington Coach that is owned by Beacon Mobility, reflected on the impact of Hall’s work.
“Our drivers represent the heart of Huntington Coach and consistently go above and beyond their job description to support the students and families we serve,” he said. “We are grateful for Margaret’s willingness to apply her talent of writing children’s books to lift up students dealing with bus anxiety and are hopeful her story will reach more kids to enrich their riding experience.”
Hall reflected on how her approach has impacted her riders over time.
“Kayla has been on my bus for three years, and in the last two years, I have seen her learn how to cope. Now, as a fourth grader, she takes the initiative to encourage others,” she explained. “Most students love to ride the bus, but those who are apprehensive often lose that feeling when greeted with a friendly smile, encouraging words, and a joyous atmosphere.”
For Hall, and drivers like Wing Hang Chiu of nearby East Williston, New York, the work is personal. Chiu, a school bus driver trainer for Beacon Mobility company Dell Transportation, often speaks with Chinese American students in their native Cantonese and Mandarin. He said he knows how important it is to build trust and familiarity.
“They open up and talk to me a little more,” he said, understanding that even a short interaction can set the tone for a child’s day.
Whether it’s offering a friendly face or taking extra time with nervous children, Long Island’s school bus drivers — and their peers nationwide — do more than drive. They provide a safe space, especially crucial in an era where anxiety is on the rise. As Shari Lurie, senior director of mental health services at epilepsy care center Epic Long Island, noted, “It’s not uncommon for kids to not want to take the bus. Having someone who is friendly and warm can make all the difference.”
The feedback Hall has received from her efforts and her book has been overwhelmingly positive. She shared with STN, “A school counselor has already put the book to use this year with an apprehensive student. A 12-year-old facing anxiety over taking the bus for the first time found the facts presented in the book helpful in facing his fear.”
Hall also noted, “A safety manager stated that ‘Margaret and David are ambassadors for the school bus industry.’ Kayla wrote a note last year, saying ‘Thank you for helping me when I really needed it.’”
Hall’s efforts have rippled beyond her Northport route. Her children’s book is now a staple in various districts, including Sachem Central, where hundreds of copies have been distributed. Each book, like each ride, offers a chance for children to feel seen, heard, and safe.
“It’s fun to be a bus driver. You get the opportunity to show people you care,” Hall said, smiling as she watches Kayla, now a confident 9-year-old, board the school bus without hesitation.
When asked what advice she would give to other bus drivers and schools to help students overcome bus-related anxiety, Hall offered this: “As the first and last face seen on a child’s school day, it is important that bus drivers put a smile on their face, meet students with a friendly greeting, and present an atmosphere of joy and safety as they ask their students to be seated and buckle up.”
Schools, she added, “can include facts about some of the issues that lead to anxiety in the bus drills performed throughout the year.”
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