Electric school buses and mitigating school bus related incidents were among the most popular articles in School Transportation News magazine during 2024.

2024’s round-up recognized nurturing positive student behavior in “Effective Management Strategies” (January), “What’s Your School Bus Driver Salary” (July), “Breakdown of the RFP Process” (March) and Transportation Director of the Year (November), which went to Craig Beaver, who has been in the student transportation industry for 25 years.

Meanwhile, school districts nationwide are still struggling with a lack of school bus drivers to cover all routes, while transportation professionals continue to promote solutions, effective management strategies, and safety for students in and out of school buses. Additionally, professionals are continuously looking for better routing alternatives, technology integration to training, and encouraging participation in training and creating emergency evacuation plans to mitigate risks in case of emergencies.

STN is reporting on the top-viewed story of each monthly magazine edition.

The following news articles are organized by month of publishing.

January – Nurturing Positive Student Behavior – Effective Management Strategies (TL)
The article focuses on the importance of student behavior management and how it is crucial for ensuring safe and enjoyable transportation to all students. The first step provided to manage student behavior is to establish clear expectations, which can include rules regarding noise levels, seat assignments, bullying prevention and reporting, and appropriate usage of language. Additionally, other approaches to foster positive student behaviors on school buses include developing behavior guidelines that can not only be communicated to students but to parents as well. Lastly, various steps are provided for successful student management. These steps are: clear expectations and rules, positive reinforcement, managing negative student behavior, communication and partnership, training and support, and education and awareness.

February – Investing in the People
“While technological solutions are constantly evolving to protect children at school bus stops, proper training of all stakeholders should take precedent.” The article addresses the amount of responsibility school bus drivers have and  emphasizes the importance of proper training. Denny Coughlin, president of School Bus Training Company, shared the importance of training school bus drivers particularly in school bus loading and unloading practices. Coughlin added how crucial it is the need to train students and parents on what to do at bus stops. Additionally, he explained that a school bus driver must always be in charge at the stops, instructing the children on when they should and should not cross. Furthermore, Coughlin stated that school bus safety training of students should start at the beginning of the school year. Wayne Reese, a transportation and logistic administrator for Cache County and Logan School District in Utah also shared thoughts on school transportation and shared how loading and unloading training available has greatly improved since he started in the industry 38 years ago. Lastly, even though new technology is helping supplement the duties of a school bus driver, it should never replace training.

March – Breakdown of the RFP Process
The article recounts the process transportation departments go through when purchasing buses, working with a contractor or buying transportation technology. Subsequently, it explains the use of a Request for Proposal or Request for Procurement (RFP), or Request for Information (RFI). Various transportation professionals shared their input on RFPs and RFIs. For instance, Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, chief support service officer for Broken Arrow Public Schools, shared that it is essential for an RFP to meet your operation’s goals and needs. She also emphasized the importance of data-driven decisions. Meanwhile, Robert Feinberg, transportation director for Deer Creek School District in Oklahoma stated that, while he was looking for vans, SUVs and cars to add to his fleet, the efficiency of the process depends on taking the time to make sure the RFP exactly outlines the district’s needs. Ultimately, the article highlights that while each RFP process will look different based on the district and fleet size, state regulations, infrastructure needs and technology, best practices can greatly aid student transportation professionals in creating a request that will get there exactly what they need in the timeframe required.

April – Lessons Learned
Operations discuss rolling out electric school buses secured with Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) funds. More electric school buses hit the road this winter thanks to the first round of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program funding. This program promises $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to fund approximately 5,000 clean and zero-emissions buses across 600 school districts. One of these districts is Chickasaw County School District in Mississippi, which received $4.345 million in rebates, $220,000 for 11 chargers and the rest for 11 Jouley electric buses from Thomas Built Buses. Electric buses now make up more than one-third of the district’s total fleet of 28 buses. Meanwhile, another small school district, Caney Valley School in Kansas, used a $790,000 rebate to purchase two electric buses and a 60-kW dual port charger that can power both vehicles at once if needed. The article highlights how the CSBP is a great way for districts to take a step into electrifying their fleets.

May – In Case of an Emergency
For the past 30 years, School Transportation News has reported on a wide spectrum of student transportation-related incidents including school bus crashes, weapons and aggressive behavior on board the bus, fire and illegal passing, to name a few. This article explains that, while different factors can contribute to any of the previously mentioned situations, training and protocols exist for school districts to implement, in order to best prepare their transportation staff for effective and safe incident management. Lastly, the article highlights the importance of detailed planning, frequent training, collaboration with first responders, and communication response protocols, to prepare transportation departments in the event of any school bus-related incident.

June – Anyone Can Achieve a Greener Fleet
Many are quick to dismiss the idea of going electric due to different challenges they may face, such as their district being too small or routes being too long. This article highlights the experiences of transportation experts who share how no project should be dismissed simply because of preconceived notions. Kenni Jean Schrader from Three Rivers Community Schools in Michigan shared that ”there are going to be some instances where going 100 percent EV may not be the best idea for you. But if you can look at the challenge and problem solve that, rather than just saying, ‘No, I can’t, you’re going to open up a lot more opportunities.” Various school districts have taken the electric route, some larger like Monongalia County School District in West Virginia, Los Angeles Unified School District and other smaller districts. Nevertheless, this does not mean going fully electric today may be an option for certain districts, or that the process will be easy. However, it’s about being open to the idea that there are ways to incorporate zero emissions into a district’s bus fleets.

July – Trends: What’s Your School Bus Driver Salary? + What’s Your Solution?
School Transportation News surveyed 209 school districts in the contiguous 48 states to determine average starting and maximum school bus driver hour wages. A chart breaks up the data by region. In this article, transportation directors nationwide shared their input on what they perceive as contributing to the ongoing driver shortage and how to best promote the job. Is the answer more pay? That seemed to be the case prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, times are changing and people in general are also valuing culture, safety and time. One director of transportation summed it up well when stating that more and more districts are trying to look at ways to improve morale and offer more thank-you bonuses to assist in recruitment.

August – What’s Driving Electric School Buses?
This article focuses on important distinctions in vehicle components that have been brought about by the movement toward electric vehicles. There are some primary differences between internal combustion engines and electric vehicles, including the battery packs powering the vehicle, followed by the replacement of the engine and traditional transmission with electric drivetrains. The article also highlights the advantages and downfalls of multiple battery options, technology and performance. Ultimately, as noted by Darren Liu, Accelera’s executive director of battery, while electric vehicle technology matures, the current variety in approaches is understandable and regardless of the technology used in an individual component, the performance of the overall system is what matters most to a school district.

September – Accounted For?
School bus loading and unloading has historically been a safety risk for many students, leading to injuries and death. While numbers have decreased over the decades, experts point out one incident is one too many. This article highlights how technology integrated into training can help school bus drivers detect students at school bus stops as well as those who remain on board after routes end.  Motorists illegally passing school buses is a big factor that contributes to these tragedies.  Weather and road conditions can also influence and even suspend bus routes. A lack of drivers can create other safety concerns. Consultant Dick Fisher noted that school districts are responding by making students walk further to a bus stop to save time and crossing the roadway before the bus arrives. Kaitlynne Monaghan, Child Check Mate business development and inside sales manager, stated that the peak times when incidents occur are around afternoon pickups, at the start of the school year, holidays and daylight saving time. Transportation professionals have suggested various student detection solutions to help mitigate these risks.

October – Changing, Correcting Bell Times Can Have Positive Effect on Routing
There may be no perfect solution when it comes to routing. As can be painfully clear to all concerned, the narrow timeframes for morning and afternoon operations leave little margin for error. At the same time, requirements such as serving students with special needs plus school bus driver shortages add even higher degrees of difficulty. This article highlights how changing bell times has brought greater efficiency to the routing process for some school districts. Additionally, with special needs populations, which pose their own set of challenges, restructuring bell time can be a plus. Whether it is an effort to improve overall routing or enhance services to students with special needs, the process requires a cooperative approach as well as a measure of thick skin. The article presents steps for addressing changing bell times and acknowledges that districts may face challenges in attempting to do so.

November – Going Big
This article features Transportation Director of the Year Craig Beaver as he shares lessons learned from Oregon’s largest electric school bus deployment yet. After starting his transportation career with a trucking company, Beaver joined Grossmont High School District in San Diego, California, where he spent 15 years as director of transportation before retiring. Beaver saw a job available at Beaverton School District near Portland, Oregon, where he is currently employed, decided to move with his family and the rest is history, as they say. One of Beaver’s claims to fame – and the reason he was selected as this year’s Transportation Director of the Year – is his willingness to share information with his peers. Every month he publishes data on his alternative fuel and energy buses, reflecting reduction in emissions, performance and vehicle costs. Beaver is going on his 40th year working in transportation, in one form or another. It’s his 25th year working in student transportation. In addition, Beaver noted his continued goal is to educate himself as much as possible.

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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.

Learn more about Vobis and her story in the November 2022 issue of School Transportation News.

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Related: WATCH: 2022 Transportation Director of the Year, Jennifer Vobis
Related: Inside a Transportation Director’s Mind
Related: Transportation Director of Year Panel Discusses Transporting Students with Special Needs

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Josh Nease never imagined that pen and paper could feel like an artifact of the past, but in his 24th year in transportation, it did.

During his career in transportation, he would go through “a lot of forms, one at a time” and receive “a lot of input from the drivers,” he recalled.

“They would sit down with us and go over their routes and we’d make adjustments,” Nease said.

For years, it worked well enough, but “well enough” had begun to fray at the edges.

This year marked a turning point at Pleasant Local School District: a bold leap from analog to digital. A new routing software – something the district had flirted with for years but never quite embraced—was now fully implemented.

Transfinder’s award-winning Routefinder PLUS has been a game changer.

Pleasant Local School District is located in Marion, Ohio, a city of about 36,000 located about 50 miles north of Columbus. The district has 1,300 students and transports 700 of them via a two-tier system. Nease had inherited the role of Transportation Supervisor from Tom Haley, his predecessor of 15 years. It was Haley who had planted the seeds of change.

“We’d been talking about doing something like this for two or three years,” Nease said. “We just couldn’t find something that was really the right fit for what we needed that we could afford in our budget.”

It wasn’t until a new superintendent, Tom McDonald, entered the scene that those seeds began to sprout. McDonald, who had come from a larger district equipped with routing software, quickly recognized inefficiencies. Personally overhearing dispatchers and staff converse over the radio to determine routes and stops for students, McDonald was even more on board to find a software solution.

The district looked at three or so companies before deciding Transfinder was the best choice.

“The others didn’t seem to flow,” Nease said. “The ease of use just didn’t seem to be there.” Helping to confirm the decision was the fact that several neighboring districts were happy Transfinder clients.

By the time Nease officially took the reins, the plan was already in motion. Last year his team spent time training, building, and beta-testing Transfinder’s award-winning Routefinder PLUS routing system. Now, for the first time, they had a tool that could streamline transportation for the district’s 1,300 students, about 700 of whom relied on the buses daily.

Beyond Routefinder PLUS, the district added Transfinder’s award-winning Stopfinder parent app and Viewfinder, a tool to monitor day-to-day operations and access student ridership information, such as student bus information.

As Nease settled into the new system, the changes were immediate. The 2024-2025 school year was the first school year utilizing the Transfinder technology.

“It’s given the buildings easier access to things. They’re not constantly calling over to the garage for bus stop information,” he said. “The secretaries can get on and look at it. It’s been very, very helpful.”

Routefinder PLUS led to one smoothest openings in recent memory.

“It’s just made things run a lot smoother than they did in the past,” Nease said.

What made this school year’s opening so smooth? Learn more here. 

 

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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.”

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.

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Related: From School Bus Driver to Assistant Director: Journey of a Rising Star
Related: Passion for Transportation Shines Through Washington Rising Star
Related: Rising Star Dedicated to Providing Best Transportation for Students With Special Needs

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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.

“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.

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Related: From School Bus Driver to Assistant Director: Journey of a Rising Star
Related: Passion for Transportation Shines Through Washington Rising Star
Related: Rising Star Dedicated to Providing Best Transportation for Students With Special Needs

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John Daniels, vice president of marketing at Transfinder, talked with Tony Corpin at the 2024 Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs (TSD) Conference about how Transfinder’s technology offerings can help streamline operations for student transporters, specifically when transporting students with special needs.

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Related: TSD Panelists Empower Student Transportation with Technology
Related: WATCH: TSD 2024 Recap
Related: WATCH: First Student at TSD 2024

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“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 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.

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.

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Related: Rising Star Dedicated to Providing Best Transportation for Students With Special Needs
Related: Missouri Director of Transportation Furthers Safety and Sustainability
Related: (STN Podcast E183) Making Progress: Wyoming Rising Star + Propane, Non-Yellow Bus Convos

The post Passion for Transportation Shines Through Washington ‘Rising Star’ appeared first on School Transportation News.

STN Publisher and President Tony Corpin sat down with a few special guests at this week’s Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs (TSD) Conference and Trade Show.

Gregg Prettyman, vice president of FirstAlt by contractor First Student, shares the program’s successes in serving students with special needs or disabilities and dispels myths about the alternative transportation industry.

Mike Ippolito, general manager of School Radio by Diga-Talk, shares how product developments like a new Wi-Fi-enabled radio can increase school bus connectivity and student safety.

Transfinder’s Vice President of Marketing John Daniels and client Annette “Kecia” Ling, transportation director of operations and planning for Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in Georgia, discuss leveraging technology to provide uniquely customized transportation service for students with special needs.

Hear soundbites from some of our attendees as they share what they found useful amid the learning, training and networking at the TSD Conference and Trade Show.

Read more about special needs.

This episode is brought to you by Transfinder.

 

 

Message from School Radio.

 

 

Stream, subscribe and download the School Transportation Nation podcast on Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube.

The post (STN Podcast E235) Onsite at TSD 2024: Solving Pain Points for Students with Special Needs appeared first on School Transportation News.

There may be no perfect solutions when it comes to routing. As can be painfully clear to all concerned, the narrow timeframes for morning and afternoon operations leave little margin for error. At the same time, requirements such as serving students with special needs add another degree of difficulty, all amid a school bus driver shortage.

For some school districts, changing bell times has brought greater efficiency to the routing process. That’s the path taken by Prince George’s County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in Maryland, where until this year transportation staff were faced with 13 different bell times in the morning and 17 in the afternoon.

“This made routing complicated and directly impacted the timely arrival of students to schools,” said Keba Baldwin, director of transportation and central garage.

But now, the district has moved to three standard bell times, and the results have been positive. “Changes in bell times have helped to improve transportation by simplifying route planning and improving route efficiency,” Baldwin noted.

Improvements include balancing the distribution of trips, reducing delays and making optimum use of buses and drivers. District officials also feel standardization across bell times makes schedules clearer and easier for families to understand.

For Tacoma Public Schools in Washington state, a change in this year’s bell times is also expected to have a major impact.

“We’ve shifted our secondary schools, with middle school now starting first,” said Zachary Midles, director of transportation. “We have also tiered our elementary schools to have two start times versus one.”

The primary goal was to improve the ability of transportation staff to manage expectations for on-time arrival. “We’ve attempted to improve efficiency with less resources,” Midles added. “This has involved numerous hours of planning and mapping out our process.”

Prospects for attaining that improvement seem promising, as district officials anticipate saving about $1 million a year following implementation of the new schedule.

“This is due to a reduction in overhead in routes, leading to less fuel and driver pay,” Midles explained. “We also plan to reduce the length of some routes with this strategy, which will also be a savings.”

A revision in bell times has also been the story this year for Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas. “It allows more time between elementary/middle school runs and secondary runs,” said Michael McClure, director of transportation services. “This has improved arrival times at secondary schools and decreased the supervision times for administrators at secondary schools.”

A catalyst to the changes was an external audit conducted last spring.

“Our bell times were a glaring issue,” McClure said. “In conjunction with our central administration, we followed up with the bell time changes.” While the move has not come without some challenges, the overall results have been “significantly better,” McClure said.

“The only issues we’re running into are for elementary schools that are geographically close to middle schools,” he continued. “There is a 15-minute gap in drop off times, so some elementary students sit on the bus for 10 minutes before we can release them in the morning.”

Recently, Celina Independent School District north of Dallas, Texas, made some initial changes in bell times and morning drop-off times, with more being considered.

“One of the key challenges with managing bell times is ensuring there’s sufficient time between the first and second bells, as well as between the second and third bells,” noted Laura Carter, transportation services director. “This scheduling allows students to arrive at school on time and have adequate time for breakfast. It’s also important to account for any potential delays between bell times.”

Along with those considerations, continued driver shortages are also a problem. That will be the impetus for proposing a three-tier bell schedule going forward, Carter added.

Addressing Special Needs:
With special populations, which pose their own set of challenges, restructuring bell times can be a plus. If that move brings overall efficiency, it can free up drivers for other than routine routes. “This has helped with on-time deliveries to our secondary schools for both general ed and special needs,” Carter reported. But that’s only a partial solution, and in some cases isn’t an option. Such is the situation for City Schools of Decatur, Georgia, a district with a small geographical footprint but with routes congested by Metro Atlanta traffic.

“The problem is that we have a three-tier system and only 45 minutes between each tier,” said LoWanda Bowman-Brown, director of transportation. “And the kicker is we have five lower elementary schools that all start at the same time. Someone is going to be late if you have one driver going to multiple schools.”

The district has three special needs drivers, one who travels out of district to a neighboring school. “Not only does this stretch things for them, but the bell schedule makes timing tight for others,” Bowman explained. “The bell schedule means the regular drivers are constantly driving with no break to use the restroom or speak with the administrators about any problems arising on their bus.”

Currently, however, there is no official discussion of adjusting bell times. “Since the community is very small, with a radius of only five miles, most parents are opposed to adjusting bell times,” she continued. “And due to the athletics department needing to leave at four for most games, it’s unlikely that bell times will be changed.”

Geography is also a limiting factor for Fayetteville Public Schools. “Our district is elongated from an East/West perspective and the corridors are not conducive to heavy traffic,” McClure noted. “Special needs students may attend school a significant distance from their residence, which causes longer travel times.”

Baldwin shared that Prince George County’s use of routing software can be helpful in this area, but that additional challenges may come into play when students require individualized accommodations such as wheelchair access, specific seating or aides.

“The software helps tailor routes to meet these needs, but balancing efficiency with safety is difficult, especially with longer loading times and specialized stops,” he said. “Additionally, maintaining route consistency during driver changes and quickly adjusting to updates in students’ IEPs requires constant oversight.”

While the software streamlines much of this process, he added, ensuring seamless communication between transportation, schools and parents is key to providing the best service for these students.

Making the Change:
Whether it’s an effort to improve overall routing or enhance services to students with special needs, the process requires a cooperative approach as well as a measure of thick skin.

“Expect issues and criticisms when implementing any new procedure, program or technology,” McClure in Arkansas said. “Trust that with time and a team working on those issues that everything will improve.”

Collaboration in dealing with such challenges is a must, Texas’ Carter noted. “Involving the
transportation department in the planning process has proven effective,” she said. “It’s essential to build strong, positive relationships with administration, campus staff, and
the special education department to ensure you have a voice in decision-making processes.”

Bowman in Georgia emphasized that communication, whether with the school district finance department to ask for a new driver, or the special needs department for support, is key to any solution. Whenever possible that means not just telling, but showing.

“Show them what transportation looks like so they will understand the challenges,” she advised. “Ask them to ride the bus or show them camera footage so they can see the challenges that may hold the bus up.”

As an example, he said it can be revealing to observe a staff member trying to put a student in the seat who refuses to get in it. “Innovation is key,” Washington’s Midles said, adding that “this is the way we’ve always done it” doesn’t mean it’s the right way.

“Partner with your district as much as you can to work as a team and put the students first as much as possible,” he concluded.

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the October 2024 issue of School Transportation News.

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Related: Politics of Bell Time Changes Impact School Bus, School Transportation Responses
Related: Electric School Buses: Optimized Routing
Related: Using School Bus Routing to Improve Workplace Culture, Retain Drivers
Related: How Technology Solves School Bus Routing Challenges

The post Changing, Correcting Bell Times Can Have Positive Effect on Routing appeared first on School Transportation News.

FRISCO, Texas – A TSD Conference audience joined a panel of four experienced female transportation managers in discussng aspects of routing technology usage that can benefit students, parents and transportation staff.

The Sunday panel was comprised of clients of presenter Transfinder and was moderated by Arnold Byrd, the company’s sales enablement specialist.

Lisa Sawyer, transportation coordinator for Tracy Unified School District in central California, has over 90  school buses and 100 staff members. When she started, the department had about 30 buses and routing was done with Excel spreadsheets. While her current solutions of Transfinder and Zonar aren’t the cheapest, she said they provide the best value and usefulness.

“For me, the hardest part was getting the district to realize they HAD a transportation department,” she said, eliciting a roomful of cheers. Prioritizing student safety and collaborating with special education departments helps ensure students with special needs are provided the transportation service they need and are legally required to have.

LoWanda Bowman-Brown, transportation director for City Schools of Decatur in Georgia for the past 11 years, said that paper route sheets had proved inadequate while a technology company they recruited had struggled with modifying technology to fit the smaller district’s needs.

She advised districts to pick what software best fits their unique needs and have the IT team involved the whole way.

“We’re going to need technology but we’re also going to need people.”

LoWanda Bowman-Brown, Transportation Director, City Schools of Decatur (Ga.)

Annette “Kecia” Ling, transportation director at Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in Georgia, oversees 460 school buses serving over 20,000 students. She said she looked for a solution that her staff and parents would be comfortable with and praised Transfinder’s ability to reduce the time spent on routing.

She noted that going away from paper route sheets which could get wet or damaged along the way made it easier for drivers and, by extension, transportation administration. Technology also helps drivers complete tiered routes, she noted, or quickly take over a substitute route in a pinch. For students with special needs, which the district calls “extraordinary students,” it makes their pertinent information readily available for the driver and attendant.

Sandy Dillman, director of transportation for Tomball Independent School District in Texas, leads 200 drivers and attendants who transport 13,000 students daily. She sad that when she started, the internet didn’t really exist and written paper routes caused confusion. She reviewed the districts of various sizes that she’d worked with over her decades in the industry and underscored that preemptive parent communication is essential to remove burdens from transportation’s daily load.

With school bus technology, “everything is at your fingertips and ready to go where it needs to go,” she said.

Crowdsourcing Advice

A Kansas school bus driver trainer in the audience noted that integration is important so a parent can sign their student up as a bus rider and transportation can easily add them onto a route.

In answer to an attendee question about information sharing to drivers and aides, Ling shared that such information is controlled on the Transfinder side so drivers can only see what they need to know on their tablets.

Sawyer added that notes can be added on student triggers or behaviors that drivers and aides should be aware of. Byrd with Transfinder noted that symbols can be used as such notations instead of labels.

Sometimes technology is required to meet district administrative goals, as was the case for Bowman-Brown in Decatur. Ling advised coming up with a technology implementation process that worked for everyone who needed to be in contact with it.

“Teamwork is the secret sauce that allows common leaders the ability to accomplish unrealistic expectations and achieve uncommon goals in uncommon circumstances.”

– Annette “Kecia” Ling, Transportation Director, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (Ga.)

Dillman praised the peace of mind that comes for both transportation staff and parents in knowing where each student is at any given time. Rather than getting a panicked “we lost a kid” call, staff can be notified of a student who didn’t scan off the bus and easily look up that student’s daily scan details.

Attendee Steven Fernandez, who is director of transportation for Modesto City Schools in California and has 40 years of experience in student transportation, reviewed his progression from handwritten paper route sheets to Excel spreadsheets, and finally to Transfinder’s electronic records and routing. He shared that previously new students were inconsistently added to whatever driver’s route was convenient, but now they are added to the best-fitting and most efficient route.

Another attendee shared that with just two routers she is able to leverage technology to handle all routing needs, readily assign a student to a bus, or easily locate a missing student. “It’s priceless to have that technology,” she stated.

“It’s a game changer,” agreed Bowman-Brown.

The panelists noted that electronic record-keeping, data sorting and report creating helps speed the state reporting process up, reduces human errors, and provides peace of mind. Ling added that they greatly assist emergency responders as well.

Ling also shared how she uses smart routing to add extraordinary students to general education routes, with an attendant if necessary, to better assist their developmental and social goals, as well as achieve better operational efficiency.

Transfinder provides this “very valuable data at the click of a button,” she stated.

When implementing new technology, Bowman-Brown advised giving school bus drivers and aides both training and time to adjust. Allow staff to give feedback and make decisions too, Ling added. Dillman recommended participating in professional development and seeking advice from other districts. Sawyer noted that the patience pays off in the end with efficiencies for all.

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Related: What Do You Really Need from Technology?
Related: Using School Bus Routing to Improve Workplace Culture, Retain Drivers
Related: Transportation Technology Super Users Share Benefits of Working with IT Departments
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One attendee suggested adding new technology in phases so as to not overwhelm driver. Others said that staff members who are tech-savvy can assist those who aren’t, as well as keep morale up and avoid resentment over the new procedures.

Attendee Lisa Connors, director of transportation for Peabody Public Schools in Massachusetts and a student transporter with almost 30 years of experience, shared her excitement for routing technology to save her a lot of man-hours, late nights and stress. “Right now, we’re just using my brain,” she said.

Byrd noted that both technology and staff knowledge must be utilized for a successful operation. “Technology can’t replace a Lisa,” he remarked.

“We’re going to need technology but we’re also going to need people,” concluded Bowman-Brown.

Byrd noted that technology can be a means to a lasting legacy of positive change in a district. The panelists closed with their technology wishes for the future, which mostly centered on safety for students with special needs.

The post TSD Panelists Empower Student Transportation with Technology appeared first on School Transportation News.

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.

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

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.

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Related: Roadeo Returns to Texas for Hands-On Emergency Training at TSD Conference

The post Missouri Director of Transportation Furthers Safety and Sustainability appeared first on School Transportation News.

Two seasoned student transportation directors shared how utilizing routing technology can help build a positive workplace culture and reduce school bus driver shortages plaguing student transporters today.

Adrian Frierson, director of transportation for Hanover County Public Schools in Virginia, has been in student transportation since 2007, including serving as transportation specialist for the Virginia Department of Education for eight years.

Duane Peterson, transportation director for Jackson County Schools and past president of the Georgia Association for Pupil Transportation, started his career driving a school bus in 1986.

Both transportation directors agreed during a Tuesday webinar presented by School Transportation News that efforts like providing healthy wages, social media praise for one bus driver a week, and a Bus Driver of the Year program can boost the team culture.

They both utilize banners, social media, signup referrals, and bonuses to recruit drivers.

“It all comes down to the culture of people saying, “I want to work here,’” Peterson declared.

“Everyone loves encouragement,” agreed Tammy Cook, senior transportation advisor for webinar sponsor and school bus technology provider TransAct Communications.

Frierson noted that it’s important to have adequate staff and equipment to deal with a routine day’s work as well as unexpected events.

Why Route Building is Important

Operationally, Peterson shared that route building was crucial. He said using two- or three-tiered routing and building routes that could easily be taken on by another school bus driver were effective ways to deal with unexpected staff callouts.

“We cut about 30 routes, which gained 30 drivers for other routes,” he related.

Furthermore, he said switching from door-to-door transportation to assigned stops helps improve efficiencies and provide enough drivers for regular and field trip routes. Making sure routes are full but not overloaded helps keep driver stress low and satisfaction up.

“It all comes back to the culture in your department, that you’re supporting your drivers while staying efficient,” he stated.

Frierson agreed that smart and efficient routing helps drivers feel safe and unrushed, contributing to a good workplace culture.

How Technology Can Help

Having tablets loaded with turn-by-turn directions was initially met with apprehension but has become a favorite with his school bus drivers, Peterson said. It helps the drivers confidently take over a route that needs to be covered, since the information is right at their fingertips. It also provides support for his school bus drivers if a parent claims their stop was skipped and proves that administration has the employee’s back.

With students being added to routes throughout the school year, Peterson noted the importance of families notifying the transportation department that their child needs service before sending them to the bus stop on their first day, which contributes to overcrowding and driver stress. Use the technology to everyone’s benefit, he advised.

Reevaluating routes annually can help uncover new efficiencies, Frierson said, a tactic he learned from his previous school district experience.

Cook underscored the importance of taking a step back and being creative to discover new efficiencies. TransAct’s Sandbox feature, for example, allows users to experiment with and preview changes before making them live, which Frierson said he finds helpful.

“You have to figure out a way to utilize your resources within the time you have,” he said.

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Cook also advised using software-created stop consolidation and walk zones along with review and insight from transportation staff to ensure the stops are safe. Peterson confirmed that this technique helped cut down route times and free up a driver for another route.

TransAct has multiple ways to build or upload routes, Cook affirmed, including capturing them while being driven.

Having one integrated technology platform has been helpful, Peterson added. This way, a new student can be added in the morning and show up on the parent app and bus route immediately.

Tips and Techniques

“Seconds add up to minutes, and minutes add up to being on time or being late,” quipped Frierson. He advised opening dialogue with stakeholders, including parents, teachers and coaches, to make sure any routing changes work well for them too.

In answering an attendee question about how to incentivize drivers to accept new routes, Frierson confirmed that he offers them bonuses to do so.

Cook stated that using technology to quickly determine which students are eligible for transportation makes it easier for staff to include them on bus routes.

Monthly headcounts help purge students who are signed up to ride but never do, Peterson said. That process changes to weekly after a sports season ends, as the transportation department works to avoid both bus overcrowding and overlong routes.

To deal with callouts, both transportation directors said they have implemented “floaters” to act as substitute drivers. Peterson shared that monitors are primarily on special needs routes, and several of them have their CDLs as well.

Both directors said sports team coaches are looking to drive school buses while drivers are being recruited to also work kitchen and custodial roles. But getting teachers to drive buses can interfere with their contracts and hours.

Watch the webinar on demand. 

The post Using School Bus Routing to Improve Workplace Culture, Retain Drivers appeared first on School Transportation News.

Imagine having fun at work.

Lyndsie Rodriguez says that’s what happened to her when her district, Lubbock Independent School District in Texas, upgraded from Routefinder Pro, once the industry’s Gold Standard for school bus routing, to Routefinder PLUS.

Lubbock ISD, located in the base of the panhandle, serves approximately 25,000 students, of which around 5,000 to 6,000 students are transported daily by the district’s buses. This involves managing 56 special education routes and 58 general education routes.

Lyndsie, Lubbock ISD’s router, says the district successfully made the move from Pro to PLUS, a seamless transition despite the size and complexity of its transportation system. Lubbock made the switch during the summer when transportation demands were lower.

She credits the smooth implementation to the support from Transfinder and the time taken to thoroughly test and adapt the system before the school year began. The district also took advantage of this time to retrain staff and work out any issues before fully launching the new system. This careful planning paid off.

“Everything has been really smooth,” she says.

The move from Pro to PLUS brought significant improvements to the district’s transportation operations. Lyndsie sheds light on the differences between the two systems and the positive impact PLUS has had on the district’s routing efficiency.

For Lyndsie, Routefinder PLUS represented a necessary advancement.

“Pro was good to start and learn to understand how everything works,” she says, “being brand new into [routing] and being taught by somebody who had been doing it for years. But PLUS was a necessary step to improve the quality of our routes, time management, and drivers’ understanding of where we’re going.”

One key feature that stood out for Lyndsie was the map-editing functionality in Routefinder PLUS. “I did not touch maps at all” in Pro, she says. In PLUS, Lyndsie finds the tools easy to use.

“It’s actually really fun. Sometimes I just sit there and create neighborhoods that we haven’t created yet,” she remarks, underscoring how user-friendly the map canvas and other features are in PLUS.

This improved user experience wasn’t just a matter of aesthetics or ease. According to Lyndsie, the enhanced features in Routefinder PLUS have directly contributed to more efficient routing and time management.

“We get stuff done a lot faster in PLUS rather than in Pro,” she notes. With Lubbock ISD often cycling drivers to other districts to help out with their transportation systems, PLUS has made it easier for drivers to understand routes and seamlessly assist other areas.

When asked whether she would ever consider going back to Pro, Lyndsie was unequivocal in her response:

“Absolutely not.” She adds that she encouraged the move to PLUS after her predecessor, who’d been routing for nearly three decades, retired. Comparing PLUS to Pro, Lyndsie says: “It’s cleaner. It’s prettier. It’s nicer. It’s more efficient,” emphasizing that Routefinder PLUS is more user-friendly and has the potential to unlock new levels of operational excellence for Lubbock ISD’s transportation department.

“There’s so much more potential here,” she says.

Lyndsie’s endorsement of the system is clear: the benefits of PLUS far outweigh any initial hesitation or learning curve that came with transitioning from Pro.

For other districts still using Routefinder Pro that may be hesitant to make the switch to PLUS, Lyndsie’s message is simple: “What are you waiting for?”

Although she admits to having initially sitting on the fence about the timing of the upgrade, not wanting to implement in the middle of the school year, she believes that moving to PLUS was a smart and necessary decision for Lubbock ISD.

And the Transfinder team, she says, was there all along the way.

“Everyone has been so amazing and helpful,” she says. “Y’all are so awesome, and I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.”

Learn more at www.transfinder.com.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post Router: Going from Pro to PLUS Made Work Fun appeared first on School Transportation News.

CINCINNATI, Ohio – First Student, the trusted school transportation and technology provider to millions of families across North America, announced today the launch of First Services, an all-encompassing division that will solve a wide and growing range of school transportation needs. First Services reflects the company’s success and growth, allowing First Student to build, and now bundle, stand-alone services for districts, an essential offering that achieves greater cost savings for districts and the opportunity for partnership in specific areas of transportation rather than a full-service model.

First Services will help districts incorporate technology, electric school bus charging, routing, fleet maintenance, and behavioral training to improve student transportation. First Services will make its experts available to all school districts, regardless of whether they contract their transportation or manage it in-house, enhancing transportation for students and creating essential budget flexibility for districts.

First Student has the following services and consulting accomplishments:
27% reduction in behavior incidents on vehicles using FirstServes program
30,000 buses routed each year across all major routing software platforms
1,250 qualified and highly engaged technicians who hold over 3,200 ASE certifications and maintain more than 45,000 vehicles
$425 Million secured for electric school bus customers in EPA funding
30+ EV experts to assist districts across North America with deployment

“For us, it starts and ends with helping students reach their full potential. We have a rich history and an incredible team. Districts and their students will benefit from our 100+ years of experience and the processes and efficiencies we have developed providing 1 billion trips a year across 20,000+ schools and districts,” said First Student CEO John Kenning. “First Services leverages our industry-leading experience providing safe, reliable transportation and our team of experts to aid districts with their needs from technology to training, from fleets to maintenance. Helping districts improve transportation and lower their costs, will allow them to focus on education while we provide support to ensure every trip to and from school is an exceptional one.”

First Services starts by engaging districts and identifying where they need help meeting goals including:

Optimizing school bus routes
Keeping buses running efficiently
Managing maintenance programs
Revamping operations
Electrifying school bus fleets
Improving the student experience

“First Student’s priority always is providing the best and safest ride for all students but too often, school districts face budgetary pressures that make this even more challenging. First Services unlocks cost savings for districts and greater opportunity for students and their families,” said First Student Vice President of Consulting Leslie Norgren. “Our expert consultants will work with districts to evaluate their daily transportation operations, bus routing, electrification, fleet maintenance, management, and safety and find opportunities to further improve transportation services. We are proud that our success has allowed us to expand our offerings for districts, and we look forward to delivering an even better experience for the students we serve.”

First Services experts then provide insights, analysis, recommendations, training, and turn-key solutions, freeing the district to focus on other priorities. The umbrella of services includes:

Fleet as a Service
Fleet as a Service (FaaS) allows districts to design a program that meets their transportation needs and lowers costs. Under FaaS, districts can build a tailored set of services and maintain complete control of their transportation operation. First Services can assist with bus procurement, vehicle maintenance, technician training, and best practices.

Maintenance as a Service
Maintenance as a service provides districts with best-in-class full service maintenance as a stand-alone contract. Our dedicated team will maintain district vehicles in a district-owned facility or one of our 100+ ASE Blue Seal Certified shops across North America. With maintenance as a service, districts benefit from a reliable and well-maintained fleet without worrying about parts, technician staffing or varying maintenance costs.

Electrifying Fleets
First Student is the largest operator of electric school buses in the world with nearly four million miles of service with EVs. As more school districts look to modernize their fleets with electric school buses, First Service’s EV experts can assist districts with grant applications, infrastructure design, hardware and software selection, charger and bus selections, site assessments, utility outreach and construction, and deployment. First Services support in the EV process allows for a reduction in implementation lead times and cost.

FirstServes
FirstServes is First Student’s premier, expert-backed training and support program, developed in conjunction with top children’s hospitals, behavioral psychologists and education professionals. The program is designed to help school districts and on-vehicles staff meet the individualized needs of all students, including those with intellectual, physical or emotional disabilities. The program empowers bus drivers and attendants with specialized training to support students on the bus, respond to behaviors and de-escalate situations to ensure all children show up to school ready to learn.

Operations
First Services also provides daily operations assessment. All aspects of day-to-day operations are analyzed, including dispatching, staffing, daily management, safety, communication and Key Performance Indicators, allowing our experts to identify opportunities to improve overall effectiveness.

Routing
Districts can receive a routing efficiency and effectiveness analysis as a stand-alone option from First Services. It includes examining routes, school schedules and bus utilization. First Student manages the routing of more than 30,000 vehicles each year, working with all major routing platforms. The evaluation can help districts improve on-time performance and reduce costs.

About First Student:
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide unmatched care and the safest ride to school to 5.5 million students every day. With a team of highly trained drivers, the company will complete 1 billion student trips during the 2024-25 school year. First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, fleet electrification, route optimization, and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 45,000 buses. For more information, visit firststudentinc.com.

The post First Student Launches First Services, Creating Comprehensive Expertise-Driven Offering for School Transportation Needs appeared first on School Transportation News.

Learn more about what it takes to create a Top Transportation Team in this month’s cover story. Read articles about transportation technology implementation, how to address school startup and routing challenges, how cell phone bans can affect student transportation, analysis of the ongoing driver shortage and more. 

Find a full conference preview of the upcoming TSD conference with session topics, speaker information, exhibitor lists, registration and hotel details, unique experiences and more in the October magazine.

Read the full October 2024 issue.

Cover Story

A Triangle of Support
Organizations that follow the upside-down triangle model of supportive, pillar-based leadership—like this year’s Top Transportation Team Award winners—could have better results in retaining staff through collaboration and communication.

Features

The Perfect Fit
The latest innovations aside, transportation directors share the important requirements of cost, ease of use and customer service when deciding on when and how to update and install GPS or video security systems.

TSD Conference Preview
Understanding and providing service for challenging student behaviors is a main focus of the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference in Frisco, Texas. The planned session, events and Trade Show will provide attendees with information on all things related to transporting the industry’s most precious cargo.

Special Reports

Avoiding False Starts
School startup is a recurring exercise eagerly or anxiously anticipated by educational professionals, as forseen and unforeseen obstacles await.

Changing, Correcting Bell Times Can Have Positive Effect on Routing
Selecting and ensuring bell times that benefit all students and especially those with disabilities can be a moving target. Directors share their secrets to optimizing routes and tiers amid back-to-school operations.

States Ban Student Cell Phones in Class: What About in School Buses?
The social norm is to constantly check or use cell phones and other communication devices. But when the technology is in the hands of school-age children, problems can ensue, leading to states and school districts limiting their use in classrooms and school buses.

Feedback
Online
Ad Index

Editor’s Take by Ryan Gray
Turning School Bus Driver Shortages Into Opportunities

Thought Leader by Linda Bluth
Beyond the Yellow School Bus: Alternative School Transportation

Publisher’s Corner by Tony Corpin
Why Professional Development Matters

The post October 2024 appeared first on School Transportation News.

Surveys can be tricky things. If you don’t ask questions, you don’t receive criticism. But you don’t even receive constructive feedback.

Did you know Transfinder has created a free tool embedded in the award-winning Routefinder PLUS routing solution that makes it easy for districts to conduct their own surveys? It’s called Formfinder and it’s far more unique and useful than free survey tools out there because it allows you to tailor your survey geographically or isolate the results based on a certain region.

For example, you may find that concerns being voiced are not districtwide but from one area and as a result there may be a deeper reason for those concerns.

At Transfinder we are constantly conducting surveys, even providing enticements like a gift card to encourage people to provide their honest answers to questions. If you’ve attended any of our webinars or appearances at national or state association conferences, you’ve heard our President and CEO, Antonio Civitella, say, “I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.”

He’ll quickly add that it’s the only way we can get better.

Survey: How was your school opening?

We recently used Formfinder to survey our clients about how their school opening was. We are continuing to survey clients because there are parts of the country where school hasn’t opened yet. We asked if their opening was “The Best Ever,” “Good Overall,” “Some Hiccups/Minor Issues” or “Serious issues.”

Most of the responses, which came from districts across the country, were that most openings were “The Best Ever” or “Good Overall.”

“This was our best year yet,” said Diane Spurlock, transportation director at Indian Hill Exempted Village School District in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Every year I learn and implement more of the Routefinder PLUS features. Your products are greatly appreciated. There is a lot to it but I love being able to check and sort out my information in so many different ways. This is what made for a great opening day.”

Wes Alexander, director of transportation at Henderson County Schools in Kentucky, had a similar experience.

“Since we upgraded to PLUS last year, our routing has been more efficient and has helped tremendously with smooth days,” he said. Besides Routefinder PLUS, the driver app Wayfinder and field trip solution Tripfinder contributed to the smooth opening.

Was this your school’s experience this school opening?

Routefinder PLUS

Andrew Strack, transportation secretary at East Noble School Corp. in Indiana, said this was the best school opening he’s experienced.

“Making changes to routes, adding students and stops were quick and easy,” he said. “This is my first year in the job of routing and I couldn’t believe how well it went.”

SEO = Safety, Efficiency and Optimization

Dale Wagner, director of transportation at Concord Community Schools in Michigan, said he faced challenges prior to the start of school.

“We lost a driver due to retirement,” Wagner said, yet with Routefinder PLUS, he was “able to eliminate and combine his route into others completely.”

Wayfinder and Infofinder i

Craig Henson, coordinator of transportation at Tuscaloosa County Schools in Alabama, noted that “Transfinder products provided a wide array of tools and resources to handle all of the logistics necessary for opening school and being prepared for transporting 12,500-plus students. Safety, efficiency and optimization were three key tools that helped in this.”

SEO – Safety, Efficiency and Optimization – are embedded in Transfinder’s suite of products. Henson mentioned beyond PLUS the importance of the driver app Wayfinder and Transfinder’s Infofinder i solution, which allows parents to quickly access their child’s bus information.

Jeannie Del Rio, an administrative assistant with Murray City School District in Utah, also boasted of a good opening thanks to tools such as Routefinder PLUS and Infofinder i.

“We were able to create a new route, get students geocoded, send parent emails and transmit up-to-date information for Infofinder,” she said, noting that Transfinder’s resources, such as the twice-a-day hotlines, played a role in such a smooth opening. “I think the summer webinars helped me be prepared. I was able to get route and information in place prior to the onslaught of student registration!”

Stopfinder

Carla Stearns, transportation supervisor at Brookfield Local Schools in Ohio also pointed to the parent app Stopfinder as a huge help for school opening.

“Stopfinder has made communication with parents much better,” she said.

Viewfinder

Kelly Dicke, transportation coordinator at St. Mary’s City Schools in Ohio also mentioned how critical Viewfinder was for a seamless opening. Districts with Viewfinder provide unlimited users access to district transportation information, including bus schedules.

“Building secretaries were able to look up students to assist with afternoon bus numbers if the student wasn’t sure which bus to board,” Dicke said.

Are phone calls into your district from parents up, the same as last year, or down? Abby DeWeese’s response may surprise you.

Read what the routing supervisor at Alvin ISD in Texas had to say.

To learn how you can have the kind of opening these districts had – and many more – call 800-373-3609 or email marketing@transfinder.com with the word “Opening” in the subject line.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post Survey Says … The Right Solutions, Support and Staff = Smooth Opening appeared first on School Transportation News.

The Real Young Prodigys, a rap group consisting of Jefferson County School District students, dropped their latest music video in response to a policy to cut school busing in Louisville, Kentucky.

The district was covered extensively by the national media last year for a rough start to the school. Problems with new AI-enabled routing and school bus driver shortage caused school to be canceled while transportation navigated thechallenges. This year, the district responded by cutting transportation to magnet and traditional schools.

But problems remain. The students released their video to “Where My Bus At?” on Aug. 8 to spread awareness of the current bus issues their community is facing.

The rap song highlights the urgent transportation issues addressed by James Craig of the Jefferson County Board of Education. Due to the ongoing school bus driver shortage certain routes have been eliminated, a decision that sparked criticism among parents and the community.

Hip Hop N 2 Learning, a nonprofit organization that mentors and supports African American youth, helped students create the music video, in response to the school board’s decision.

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Related: New Data: School Leaders & Parents Reveal Crisis in School Transportation; Bus Driver Shortages and Budget Cuts Are Forcing Parents to Fill the Void
Related: What would solve the school bus driver shortage?
Related: Families Look for Transportation as School Districts Face Bus Driver Shortage
Related: Kentucky House Bills Call for Changes to Student Transportation

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