LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Association of Pupil Transportation announced several winners and its latest inductee to the NAPT Hall of Fame during its annual conference this weekend.

The event in Louisville, Kentucky recognized Keith Henry, a longtime student transportation leader whose career has been marked by service, mentorship and advocacy for the profession, as this year’s solo inductee into the NAPT Hall of Fame. Henry is a past president of NAPT and currently serves as president of the NAPT Foundation. He is also the executive director of the Missouri Association for Pupil Transportation.

Henry started in the student transportation industry in 1994 as director transportation for Windsor School District in Imperial, Missouri following six years of service as an aviation electrician in the U.S. Coast Guard. He moved to Mehlville School District in 1997 as director of transportation and support services and then to Independence School District as director of transportation in 2010. He joined Lee’s Summit R-7 School District as director of transportation in July 2016 and four months later began his two-year term as NAPT president. He retired from Lee’s Summit at the end of June 2021.

NAPT describes its Hall of Fame as the association’s highest individual honor, recognizing professionals whose contributions, influence and leadership have had a lasting impact on both NAPT and the school transportation industry.

“I’m not up here, I don’t think, by accident but by design. And it wasn’t not my design, it was all your design,” Henry said during his acceptance speech Oct. 4. “You all have put so much into me and that’s the why. And my why is simple. I like to help others. I like to serve others. .. I went into the Coast Guard because I wanted to help others. When I got out of the Coast Guard in 1994, I took a temporary job in a transportation department that I didn’t seem to be able to kick. Here I am.”

The 2026 NAPT Distinguished Service Award was presented to Sue Shutrump, recognizing her exemplary leadership, service and “unwavering desire to make things safer for all children on the school bus” over the past 41 years, said nominator, NAPT past-president and NAPT Foundation board member Alexandra Robinson. A retired occupational and physical therapy supervisor for Trumbull County ESC in Ohio, Shutrump is the owner of Sue Shutrump Consulting and serves as co-chair of NAPT’s Special Needs Advisory Committee alongside Robinson. She is a member of the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Tenured Faculty and long-time supporter of those who transport students with disabilities and preschoolers.

Shutrump recounted how she first became involved in school transportation in 1991, after her supervisor at the time received a phone call from a parent who expressed concern that her son was being transported unsafely to school in his wheelchair.

“I learned that she was right and I have never stopped learning since then,” Shutrump said during her acceptance speech. “And that is thanks to this incredible transportation community, full of people who are so willing to share their expertise in support of getting kids to school safer.”

Meanwhile, Jeff Hall, a school bus driver for Dickson County Schools in Tennessee, was posthumously awarded the NAPT Heroism Award sponsored by Blue Bird, for his selfless and decisive actions while evacuating students during a December 2025 school bus fire emergency, despite only being a school bus driver for four months. He died unexpectedly Feb. 10. Melissa Garton, director of transportation for Dickson County Schools, accepted the award on Hall’s behalf Sunday.

The School Bus Driver Training & Safety Award, sponsored by IC Bus, was presented to Dennis Murphy, training and safety officer for Greenville County Schools in South Carolina. Murphy was recognized for his commitment to school bus driver training and for helping advance student transportation safety. He was ill and unable to attend NAPT, so his colleague Shane Mitchell accepted the award on his behalf. IC Bus created the award to recognize school districts, companies and transportation professionals with exemplary driver-training programs and includes a $500 grant to further enhance driver training within the recipient’s operation.

The Continuing Education Award, sponsored by Thomas Built Buses, was presented to Angela Renz, the Northeast and Southeast Quadrant Manager for Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee. The award recognizes Renz’s commitment to continued learning and to advancing the student transportation profession through education.

The NAPT Special Needs Transportation Award, sponsored by Q’Straint/Sure-Lok, was presented to Pamela Kelley, transportation administrative assistant at Spartanburg School District Six in South Carolina. Kelley was honored for her dedication to providing safe, compassionate and exceptional transportation for students with disabilities and special needs.

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Students in Pennsylvania stopped a moving school bus after their driver experienced a medical emergency near a Hollidaysburg Area School District junior high building, reported USA Today.

The Sept. 17 incident was captured on a security camera inside the school bus. Several students rushed to the front of the vehicle, while others directed their classmates to apply the brakes and call for help over the radio.

Ben Caldwell, the district’s director of human resources and transportation, said a few students sustained minor injuries. The bus driver is doing well following the medical emergency and returned to work.

The approximately 40-second recording begins with students exiting the bus while it is stopped. Moments later, the vehicle slowly begins moving forward, and one student asks the driver whether she can get off.

As the bus continues moving, students reportedly recognize that something is wrong and begin responding. Some scramble toward the driver’s area, while others shout instructions about stopping the vehicle and contacting someone for assistance.

“Our bus driver just passed out,” a student says near the end of the clip.

A few students fall forward during the incident, but Caldwell said via the article, “all injuries were extremely minor and superficial.”

According to the news report, an earlier district statement recognized 10th grader Alexis Smith for helping stop the bus after the driver became unresponsive. The statement credited Smith with requesting emergency assistance over the bus radio and checking the driver’s pulse and breathing until first responders arrived.

District officials said Smith’s participation in health and medical science training at the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center helped prepare her to respond calmly during the emergency, according to that report. Medical personnel took over the driver’s care upon arrival.

Caldwell’s subsequent update indicated that the driver had resumed working following the medical emergency. The information he provided did not specify the nature of the driver’s medical condition.

Written with the assistance of AI.

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The post Pennsylvania Students Stop School Bus After Driver Experiences Medical Emergency appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Pinckney Community Schools bus driver was honored for using her training and quick judgment to protect six students after severe storms trapped their school bus between fallen trees, reported BWHL News.

A series of storms Sept. 3 caused widespread power outages and lengthy dismissal delays across Livingston County in Michigan. Pinckney Superintendent Rick Todd said school bus drivers were transporting students home when the most dangerous weather moved through the area.

Todd gave special recognition to a driver identified as “Ms. Sandy,” whose bus became trapped when trees fell in front of and behind the vehicle. As winds and flying debris intensified and funnel clouds began forming, she used her training as both a school bus driver and volunteer firefighter to guide the six students from the bus to a nearby field, Todd said.

“I am incredibly grateful to say that, other than being extremely wet, everyone remained safe,” Todd wrote.

Todd also praised the students for remaining calm, following directions and supporting one another during the emergency. He said their actions reflected the character the district seeks to instill in its students.

The superintendent thanked teachers, administrators, support staff, coaches, custodians and parent volunteers for reassuring students and following established emergency procedures during what he called an understandably frightening situation. Officers from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and Hamburg Township Police Department responded to Farley Hill and Country elementary schools, providing additional reassurance to students, employees and families.

Fowlerville Community Schools also experienced power failures and delayed dismissals. Superintendent Matt Stuard said Little Glad Early Childhood Center and Kreeger Elementary lost electricity, phone service and internet access for two hours, but a tornado warning forced students and athletes to shelter in place.

Downed trees and blocked roads later prevented buses from reaching elementary schools, requiring families to pick up students. Staff stayed until every child was reunited with family.

School Transportation News contacted Pinckney Community Schools for additional information but did not receive a response.

Written with the assistance of AI.

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A school bus driver is being credited with protecting 14 children and three adults after a large pine tree fell onto their bus as they traveled through Newbury, New Hampshire, reported Valley News.

Jesse Aiken was reportedly driving children enrolled in Claremont’s Red and Blue Project, a district leadership program for incoming sixth graders, Wednesday afternoon when the incident occurred.

Aiken said he was traveling about 50 mph on Route 103 near Todd Lake when he noticed a pine tree moving alongside the road. He initially thought wind was causing the movement but realized the surrounding trees were still.

“My first reaction was to hit the brakes,” Aiken told local news reporters. “Then I’m thinking, I can’t stop in time.”

With only seconds to react, Aiken reportedly accelerated in hopes of passing beneath the falling tree. The tree, which he estimated was more than 100 feet tall, struck the rear portion of the bus roof and briefly lifted the vehicle’s front wheels from the roadway.

The impact reportedly caused significant damage to the bus, but no one sustained serious injuries. Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot said he did not believe anyone was transported by ambulance. He described the injuries as minor and caused by occupants being jostled during the impact.

Aiken slowed the bus and stopped safely. Its windshield was splintered but remained intact. School Resource Officer Crystal Simonds, who runs the leadership program, called 911 and contacted parents. Counselors Paige Simonds and Vicky Bonneau also assisted the students as Newbury volunteer rescue personnel responded.

Aiken praised the children, ages 10 and 11, for remaining calm and staying in their seats despite becoming emotional. Many parents arrived and reunited with their children at the scene. A second bus transported the remaining students back to Claremont.

Superintendent Tim Broadrick lauded Aiken’s “decisive and quick actions” and recognized Crystal Simonds and Wilmot for their “calm response and leadership.” Aiken stated that accelerating likely prevented the tree from striking the front of the bus more directly.

“You want to make sure everyone is safe,” he said.

Written with the Assistance of AI.

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