Just in time for the back-to-school season, Connecticut-based school bus company, DATTCO, launched a bilingual children’s book designed to help young students overcome the fear of riding the school bus for the first time.

The company, which transports over 130,000 students daily across Connecticut and Rhode Island, created “The Big Yellow Adventure” in response to a concern staff hear regularly from families. Many parents have shared that their children are nervous or afraid of taking the school bus, especially for the very first time.

“As a school transportation provider, we understand that our role goes beyond simply getting students from point A to point B,” Reya Samuel, the marketing specialist at DATTCO, told STN. “We’re a part of the daily lives of thousands of families, and we want to help make that first day and every day after feel safe and welcoming.”

To help ease that anxiety, DATTCO partnered with local behavioral health provider Optimus Healthcare to create a storybook that serves as a comforting and educational resource. The book is designed to be read aloud by parents or caregivers and encourages conversations about what children can expect during their first ride. By helping kids prepare emotionally, the book supports smoother transitions into the school year.

The free resource will be distributed to every elementary school DATTCO serves, and families will also have access to PDF copies and coloring book versions on the company’s website. The book is available in both English and Spanish.

Paul Mayer, vice president of marketing and communications at DATTCO as well author of  “The Big Yellow Adventure” emphasized the motivation behind the project.

“When we started hearing the same concerns from parents year after year, we realized we had an opportunity to do more than just transport students safely, we could help them feel confident and excited about their journey to school,” he said.“ This book represents our belief that a transportation company’s responsibility extends far beyond the bus ride itself. We’re part of each child’s educational story, and we want that story to start with confidence, not anxiety.”

Emotional wellness was at the forefront of the project. Brianna Whitlock, licensed clinical social worker from Optimus Healthcare, who helped develop the book, shared her perspective on the broader impact.

“When transportation companies take this kind of proactive approach to child welfare, it demonstrates a commitment that goes far beyond their core service,” she said. “This book fills a genuine gap in preparing children for school transportation.”

From DATTCO’s leadership, the initiative is viewed as a natural extension of the company’s mission. “We know that a child’s first school bus ride is an important step not just in their education, but in their emotional growth,” said Kyle DeVivo, chief operating officer. “This book is our way of saying, We’re here to help. Partnering with Optimus Healthcare has been invaluable in making sure this resource truly serves the children and families we care so deeply about.”

Company President and CEO Don DeVivo echoed this sentiment, framing the book as part of a broader philosophy.

“At DATTCO, we’ve always believed that our responsibility extends beyond transportation, we’re part of each child’s educational journey,” he said, adding that book represents the company’s commitment to innovation and dedication to making every aspect of that journey as positive as possible for the students and families served.

As schools prepare to reopen, DATTCO is organizing events including book reading demonstrations and school bus tours to give families a chance to meet drivers and ask questions ahead of the first day.

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Barrington Public Schools in Rhode Island reported its third incident involving a former school bus monitor, reported WJAR 10.

According to the news report, the district’s acting superintendent, Chris Ashley, said in a letter to families on Monday that a third incident was reported involving a former bus monitor. School officials said last month that the former employee was under investigation after a “serious allegation” was reported.

Authorities have since stated that the allegations involve inappropriate touching. On Monday, Ashley communicated that all three reported incidents occurred on a route that transported students with disabilities.

“We had previously refrained from identifying the route out of concern for student privacy. However, in light of this most recent development, we now must share that all three reported incidents occurred on a special education bus route, a route that served some of the most vulnerable members of our school community. This reality is as painful as it is unacceptable. Our responsibility to every child is to ensure not only their education, but their safety, dignity, and care,” Ashley said in a letter to families via the article.

The bus monitor, whose identity was not disclosed in this writing, had been employed with the Ocean State Transit to serve Barrington schools and has since been fired. School officials said via the article that the bus driver, who was involved in two of those incidents as well, was also fired from the role. The school board also voted to end its contract with Ocean State Transit.

Ashely said via the news report that the incidents have been reported to Barrington police and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families. However, while the Barrington Police Department said it is aware of the complaint, no charges have been brought against the bus monitor in this report. The case remains under investigation.

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Related: New Jersey School Bus Monitor Faces Manslaughter Charges Following Student’s Death
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Related:Alabama School Bus Driver Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Student with Special Needs

The post Rhode Island School District Reports Third Incident Involving Bus Monitor appeared first on School Transportation News.

As a state committee studies ways to wean Rhode Island off of natural gas, several of its members want the group’s final report to dismiss one potential pathway as wholly unrealistic.

Switching to renewable natural gas or other alternative fuels appears to be neither a feasible nor a financially viable solution at this time, say multiple stakeholders who have commented on a draft outline of a report a consulting group prepared for Rhode Island regulators.

RNG is derived from biomass or other renewable resources. It is a biogas, captured from the decomposition of organic matter, such as animal manure or food waste.

Many gas utilities around the country are pushing for RNG as part of the solution to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. But Michael Walsh, a partner at Groundwork Data, a clean energy consultancy that worked with the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club in the committee process, told the Energy News Network that “we don’t see a lot of viability with the RNG pathway,” both because of limited availability and because it is much more expensive then fossil fuel gas to produce.

While RNG is interchangeable with conventional natural gas, “realism about the availability and cost of alternative fuels for the gas system is necessary” for the planning process, wrote Nicholas Vaz, Rhode Island special assistant attorney general, in his comments on the draft. 

Vaz cited a 2019 study prepared for the American Gas Foundation that looked at RNG production potential by 2040, based on the availability of source materials and utilization. Based on those findings, Vaz concluded that the amount of RNG available by 2050 would only allow for about 17% of Rhode Island households to remain connected to the gas system.

Currently, more than half of Rhode Island homes receive natural gas service.

The state Public Utilities Commission established the stakeholder committee as part of its “Future of Gas” docket, an investigation of the future of the regulated gas distribution business in Rhode Island. That docket was opened in 2022 in response to the passage of the state’s Act on Climate, which mandates a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2030, 80% by 2040, and net-zero by 2050.

The natural gas system operated by Rhode Island Energy accounts for almost 40% of statewide emissions. So the PUC, which regulates the utility, is in the tricky position of having to craft a plan for getting commercial and residential customers off natural gas, finding a way to pay for it, and ensuring that consumers aren’t harmed in the process. Regulators will use the committee’s report to help inform the strategy it lays out.

The neighboring state of Massachusetts is a little farther along in that process; its state Department of Public Utilities issued an order last December outlining a strategy for getting the state off natural gas.

While utilities there initially pushed for a plan that was heavily reliant on RNG, regulators ultimately rejected that approach, citing concerns about availability, cost and whether such alternative fuels will actually lead to a reduction in emissions.

To some extent, Massachusetts’ work to date helped inform the committee process in Rhode Island, Walsh said.

“We had a lot of Massachusetts folks in the room to share lessons learned,” he said. “We at least got through some of the questions faster.”

Ben Butterworth, director of climate, energy and equity analysis for the nonprofit Acadia Center, told ENN his organization would like to see Rhode Island prioritize much of what is in the Massachusetts strategy: a focus on electrification and energy efficiency, disincentivizing further expansion of the gas system, and pilot programs focused on the strategic decommissioning of the gas system.

The PUC must also consider how to fund the transition, Butterworth noted. Vermont and Massachusetts are pursuing a clean heat standard as a funding mechanism for climate goals, while New York is pursuing a cap-and-invest approach. 

“Finding that mechanism is critical, and the report should include at least those options,” Butterworth said.

At the same time, the report should include a discussion of possible mechanisms to protect low-income ratepayers from “the inevitable initially increased costs of electrification,” urged Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, in her comments on the draft.

These might include capping the amount a household pays for electricity as a percentage of their income; rate reforms; and assistance programs to defray the costs of installing electric heat pumps.

“Low-income utility customers living in rented homes that are least well equipped for energy efficiency are already most harmed by the social effects of climate change,” Wood wrote. “The only way to ensure that they will not be doubly harmed by unsustainably higher utility bills during the transition…is to decouple income-eligible consumers’ energy costs from the near-term impacts of necessary, but initially more costly, electrification.”

The committee is expected to issue a final report with its findings and recommendations to the PUC by the end of the year.

As Rhode Island considers future of gas, advocates call for ‘realism’ on cost, availability of RNG is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.