Heard on the Show Floor
“I like learning about all the new technology, but the most important thing to me when I come to this trade show especially is the bonding with other people who are like us. Meeting people from all around the world and the stories that you hear and share with them, it’s just great.”
— Kim LaMonte, acting supervisor and school bus driver, Enterprise Elementary School District, Redding, Calif.
“I’m hoping to get a new school bus pretty soon with STAR seating. I’ve been really looking at the STAR seating to hopefully incorporate into my fleet. Those are the two main things I came here to look at.”
— Ricky Brown, fleet coordinator, Navajo Head Start, Window Rock, Ariz.
“Whether you’ve been driving for seven years or 13 years, you always learn something new at this show.”
— Shirley Passmore, school bus driver, CSRA EOA Inc. Head Start, Augusta, Ga.
“Having come from being a businessman in a dental practice for 10 years, I came into this profession due to the economy, and I am surprised by all the technology available on school buses.”
— Walter Relf, school bus driver, Gila Crossing Community School, Laveen, Ariz.
“I’ve been away from school transportation conferences for about two years, so I see a difference (in new technology). The buses have changed, their fuels have changed. More cameras, and I think that’s something that is more useful for school districts, if they can come up with the money to do that. Everything here is to the advantage of the attendee, if they’re taking the time to meet everybody.” — Barbara Fasing, transportation consultant, Greenwood Village, Colo.
smile and positive attitude, which was passed on to the students on the bus. Many in the audience nodded their heads in agreement to Martinez’s
statement
that the beginning of a student’s day be- gins and ends with the school bus driver and the environment on the bus.
HOT TOPICS COVERED IN EDUCATIONAL TRACKS Te educational
seminars this year
covered outsourcing, key performance in- dicators for bus technicians, transporting homeless students and much more. Te session “Is Privatization Right for
You? A Checklist of What Privatization Can and Cannot Do for Your District” ad- vised attendees to be extremely thorough in determining why to consider privati-
zation — namely, ensure school boards understand the pros and cons, prepare a well-planned request for proposal and allow bidders the flexibility to suggest value-added upgrades. Te session “Dealing with Decreased/ Increased Student Enrollment
Including
No Child Left Behind Act and McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistant Act,” identified the current trends and challenges of busing students who move around from district to district under different circumstances, including homeless or foster care students. It offered examples of creative measures some student transporters have taken to ensure these students receive a ride to and from school, regardless of whether dis- tricts are at odds with each other regarding which entity pays for the cost.
“Te homeless culture is changing,”
said Launi Schmutz, transportation ad- ministrator at Washington County (Nev.) School District and one of the panelists. “[Student transporters] are becoming more of a social service in helping families.” A separate seminar focused on transport-
ing students with autism, a special needs category that is growing due to early diag- nosis in children ages three and younger. “Spectrum in the Sky: Viable Solutions
for Transporting Students with Autism” provided a broad overview of autism, its defining characteristics and techniques to soothe the sensory and sensitivity levels of these students while they’re inside the unique school bus environment. Te panel noted that special needs transporters must remember the impor-
58 School Transportation News Magazine September 2012
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