Be Vigilant: Crime Headlines & SC District’s Bus Mechanic Retention Secrets
Release Date: 09/10/2024
2024 in Review: Top STN Magazine Articles
School Transportation Nation
It was a packed year for School Transportation News magazine. Tony and Ryan review the top article in each monthly issue and what student transporters have to say about their operations and challenges. Read more at .
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Dynamic Issues: Lessons From 60-Year Industry Veteran + Zonar CEO Interview
School Transportation Nation
Industry expert, NAPT Hall of Famer, TSD Tenured Faculty Member, and consultant Linda Bluth, Ed.D joins us for the first time on the podcast to share insights on students with special needs. She addresses the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), departmental collaboration, aides, alternative transportation, substitute drivers, training and more. New Zonar CEO Charles Kriete discusses the technology provider’s combination with GPS Trackit, as well as efficiencies and innovations planned for the future. Read more about and .
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Time Will Tell: Shakeups in the School Bus Business World (+ TBB CEO Interview)
School Transportation Nation
Ryan and Tony analyze headlines including Lion Electric’s reduction of electric school bus manufacturing, technology provider Zonar’s acquisition by GPS Trackit, and what such developments mean for the industry. T.J. Reed, the new president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, joins us to discuss his vision for the company and exciting future innovations. Join us at STN EXPO Charlotte for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Thomas Built Buses C2 Plant in High Point, N.C. Learn more at . Read more about .
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Lives in Our Hands: Danger Zone Safety, Rising Star Talks Driver Training
School Transportation Nation
Safety lessons the industry can learn from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Loading & Unloading Survey and illegal school bus passing report to Congress, as well as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse recommendations. Joshua Wilson, former transportation director, national director of student transportation for Specialized Education Services, and a 2024 STN Rising Star, leverages his expertise in driver training to analyze the school bus driver shortage, alternative transportation, and more. Read more about .
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TSD 2024 Recap: Supporting Students with Special Needs as Unique People
School Transportation Nation
Keynote trainers and conversations at the last week focused on seeing students with special needs as people first and consistently supporting them in their distinctive requirements. “I always ask: ‘Is this in the best interest of the kid?’” Dana Rosen, TSD keynote speaker and assistant director of transportation services for student safety and support for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Texas, shares how she uses her special education background to support both transportation staff and students with special needs on the school bus ride. Read more about . Episode sponsors: Transfinder,...
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Onsite at TSD 2024: Solving Pain Points for Students with Special Needs
School Transportation Nation
STN Publisher and President Tony Corpin sat down with a few special guests at this week’s Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs . 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...
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Leadership, Awarded: Meet the 2024 Transportation Director of the Year
School Transportation Nation
School bus seat belt legislation is back in Congress. includes features on industry leadership, EV battery technology, and more. “We find a way to make it happen.” Craig Beaver, administrator of transportation for Beaverton School District near Portland, Oregon, and the 2024 STN Transportation Director of the Year, discusses the paths that led him to his current storied leadership position, as well as the knowledge and technology that goes into school bus driver retention and clean bus trailblazing. Read more about . Episode sponsors: Transfinder, School-Radio.
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Fraud in NY & Cohesive Indiana ‘Top Transportation Team’ District
School Transportation Nation
Ryan & Tony look at contractor First Student’s bus technology experiments, the upcoming elections, a New York bus company’s fraud scheme, a bus driver’s book on anxiety for student riders, and additional safety efforts. Amy Rosa, director of transportation for Wa-Nee Community Schools in Indiana, talks at STN EXPO Reno in July, driver retention efforts, technology implementation, effective student safety practices, and success with electric buses. Read more about . Episode sponsor: Transfinder
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What Districts Need to Know: Serving & Guiding Students With Special Needs
School Transportation Nation
Read remembrances of industry veteran and watch recent STN on fleet electrification and school bus W-Fi. The upcoming Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs held Nov. 8-12, 2024 in Dallas-Frisco, Texas, hosts the conversations that transportation and education departments need to align on regarding students with special needs. Industry consultant and TSD Tenured Faculty member Launi Schmutz-Harden joins us to discuss the role of monitors and aides on special needs routes, the hands-on emergency evacuation training at TSD, and regulating the use of non-yellow bus...
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Come Together: Florida Hurricane Fallout, NAPT Conference Recap
School Transportation Nation
Ryan and Tony analyze Hurricanes Helene and Milton’s impact on Florida and recap the news and awards shared at the National Association for Pupil Transportation Conference & Trade Show. Transfinder CEO Antonio Civitella discusses leveraging technology and teamwork for school bus operations and emergency preparedness. Read more about and .
info_outlineSerious headlines include last week’s school shooting near Atlanta, Georgia, a Kentucky student killed by her school bus, and cell phone bans in schools.
“I’m going to hire for a can-do attitude over technical skills every time.” Greenville County Schools in South Carolina is the home of multiple STN Garage Stars. Adam James, director of transportation and fleet services, discusses his military experience and how he leads the district's school bus operations and maintenance.
Read more about operations.