16 School Transportation News Magazine September 2011 Southeastern States Tackle Tough Issues Facing Industry Pupil transportation directors representing


14 southeastern states held their 61st annual meeting in early July, with more than 200 del- egates attending. For the second year, the state directors held their meeting jointly with a state conference, this time with the Oklahoma School Transportation Association. “It is a model that works pretty well for us, particu-


larly with the economy as it is,” said Derrick Graham, state director of transportation at the North Caro- lina Department of Education (DOE) and a member of the Conference Executive Committee. Te Southeastern States Pupil Transporta-


tion Conference (SESPTC) consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Car- olina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Randy McLerran, longtime state director of


Oklahoma, retired earlier this year from the state DOE and formally introduced Trent Gib- son as his successor. Like McLerran, Gibson has also been a teacher and a school principal in ad- dition to working in student transportation. A highlight of the three-day conference was


the trade show as more than 60 vendors were on hand to display their wares. Mike Simmons of the Arkansas DOE and current NASDPTS president also presented results of the recently completed 2011 Stop Arm Violation Survey. Te


survey is conducted by the National Associa- tion of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services. Twenty-eight states participated and reported a total of 37,756 illegal passing inci- dents recorded by bus drivers. Te survey also found that 3.1 percent — or nearly 1,200 — of all illegal passing incidents occurred on the righthand side of the bus when students were loading or unloading. “Te right hand passing findings are unreal,” said


Simmons. “We expected the big numbers on the left side of the bus, but we didn’t expect 3 percent on the right side. Tat should be zero.” Commenting on the finding that nearly two-


thirds of illegal passing violations occur from the front of the bus, Simmons said, “We put all the bells and whistles on the back of the school bus, but two- thirds of the illegal passing occur from the front.” Transportation directors also heard presenta-


tions on such topics as: “Why I Bleed Yellow,” by incoming NAPT president Alexandra Robinson; how to respond to sudden inclement weather such as tornadoes/hurricanes, snow or ice, blistering heat and potential torrential rains or flooding, by local News 9 meteorologist Michael Armstrong; bus discipline using the positive-be- havior interventions and support methodology by a trio of educators; leadership practices by Dr. Mary Jo Major; how to cope with bullying on


Chicago Kicks Off $3 Million Overhaul to Routing, GPS On-time student delivery and improved customer service are the impetus


behind an adventurous transportation management project being imple- mented by the nation’s third largest school district over the next year. Francisco Du’Prey, the transportation director at Chicago Public Schools,


said all routing for the past two-plus decades was performed by two dedi- cated employees providing coverage for more than 22,000 student riders. Tis negatively affected accountability, as bus contractors expressed frustra- tion with the baseline and would often make their own tweaks to improve efficiency. One result was that there were often too many school buses on the road; another was that the district’s transportation department would receive upwards of 250 phone calls a day from confused parents. Te project will also implement a first-time, uniform code of conduct for drivers, regard- less of who signs their paychecks. Increased accountability is also coming to the parents. Te district prohibits


special education students from being dropped off without a parent or guardian being home. A new requirement going into effect is that “latch-key” kids will be flagged as undeliverable. Tose students will be returned to school, where their parents will need to make plans to pick them up. Te first of three implementation phases is a GPS install throughout the


fleet to show the locations of each bus running throughout the service area. Next up is integrating GPS and routing systems into district reports, which will include driver history, invoicing, auditing, bar coding and driver/aide log reporting. Bus companies will be provided vendor web access for GPS two- way communication. A web-based portal will then be opened for parents to send transportation requests and to access eligibility requirements. Du’Prey explained that the 22 school bus contractors can select a GPS pro-


vider of their choice based on the project’s requirements, either individually or collaboratively. If current systems already meet the new requirements, no new hardware or software is necesssary. Te project is expected to be done by next spring so CPS can train contractors in time for the 2012–2013 school year.


the bus, including cyberbullying, by Gayle Jones from the Oklahoma State DOE; and more. Robinson also presented a workshop manag-


ing the media, which was one of several NAPT Professional Development workshops present- ed. She discussed basic principles for interacting with the media about school bus developments. William Arrington, GM of TSA’s Office of


Highway and Motor Carrier, gave an update on federal initiatives to improve school bus secu- rity. He told the capacity audience that TSA is preparing to release a DVD about the School Bus First Observer Program and the School Transportation Security Awareness Program. Meanwhile, local fire chief Jon Hansen gave a


presentation on emergency response. Hansen spoke with credibility after having worked on the Oklahoma City bombing in 1993 and the terrorist bombing of 9/11. His presentation dealt not just with potential terrorist incidents but also weath- er-related emergencies, such as tornadoes and earthquakes, that affect school bus operations. Te conference was “a good professional de-


velopment opportunity,” added North Carolina’s Graham, who takes over as SESPTC president next year for June Eanes of Virginia. “It’s always a really good opportunity for folks from the same region of the country to compare notes about what is going on.”


Denver Public Schools Launches ‘Success Express’ Shuttle Service


A program offering increased flexibility and customer service for more


than 3,000 student riders attending “choice” schools was launched at the start of school last month. Te idea for the “Success Express” came about following discussions between the district’s transportation de- partment, then Transportation Director Pauline Gervais, who has since retired and is now a consultant with Education Compliance Group, and the community action group Metro Organizations for People in an effort to provide improved service for students living in the Near North- east area of Denver. Te service essentially consists of circular school bus routes that are spaced about 5 to 10 minutes apart to offer rides to school for any student who needs to take advantage of the program. Nicole Portee, the director of transportation for Denver Public Schools


(DPS), explained that the service works somewhat like fixed-route city buses. DPS ran two tests of the shuttle routes on Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 5. Te bus- es stop at all participating Near Northeast schools, including charter schools. Te service is also open to kindergartners through 12th graders, but


the students will, for the most part, be separated by age in correlation to bell times set by the individual schools. Portee added that 14 buses, each staffed by a driver and an aide, were set to begin the school year on Aug. 10 for schools in the Near Northeast. Te rest of the district opened classes on Aug. 18. Te drivers are now responsible for counting each child as he or she


boards the bus, and the aides will manage student behavior during the ride and will assist each child with departing the bus. Two weeks worth of classroom and behind-the-wheel training and re-training began on July 15. Portee said other communities within DPS boundaries have also ex-


pressed interest in the “Success Express,” and there are plans to eventually open up the service to those areas as well as to mainstream students with special needs.


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