Kennington is recognized industrywide for taking time to collaborate with student transportation professionals as well as lending his expertise in child safety, especially when it comes to passenger restraints.


School Transportation. Charley’s knowl- edge and expertise were invaluable.” Kennington served as the pseudo


state director of student transportation for eight years at the Texas Department of Public Safety and was slated to be- come president of NASDPTS when he was hired by Region 4 in the spring of 2007 to help oversee the evolution of its transportation department. The goal was to transform the depart-


ment from being simply a vital resource for local school districts to a national provider of training. But aside from that, Kennington selflessly answers any and all calls industry-wide to share his safety and operational expertise. “I’m not surprised at all (by the


award),” said Rebecca Rocha, who suc- ceeded Kennington at Texas DPS as state director. “Knowing Charley, he will be very humble about it.” Mike Simmons, the state director at


the Arkansas Department of Education, took over Kennington’s president-elect position with NASDPTS. Simmons completed his two-year term as presi- dent last month. “Charley’s a great guy. He’s always


example, said Sue Shutrump, supervisor of occupational therapy for the Turnbull County Educational Services Center in Dayton, Ohio, and a co-presenter with Kennington during the NHTSA eight-hour workshop. Kennington also played a big role in revising the NHTSA curriculum several years ago. “His kind and gentle nature is appreciated by all. It is amaz-


ing how consistently he is unflappable, even when working on complex projects with what seems like unreasonable deadlines,” she said. Another of Kennington’s associates on the NHTSA school


bus curriculum, special needs transportation consultant Cheryl Wolf, said he is always willing to share his “wealth of knowledge.” She said there is not a more deserving person to receive this year’s award. “If you have a question, he is the person to talk to,” she


added, calling him a true leader and a humble servant of the in- dustry. “We worked very closely as writing chairs for the Infant and Toddlers and Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs for the 2010 National Congress on


been, as I like to say, someone who wears a white hat,” he said “He’s truly genuine in his thinking as far as put- ting the kids first. Charley’s one of those who’s not in it for the job. He’s in it for the kids. You can see that in what he does, in his training.”


SPREADING INNOVATION Simmons’ home state is an example


of the far-reaching influence of ITS un- der Kennington. It was rebranded three years ago to meet the growing training needs of transportation departments everywhere, not just Texas. The name change was in response to student transporters who Kennington said didn’t think they could utilize the trans- portation training solutions offered if


they didn’t happen to work and live in the state or the Houston area. Region 4 is the largest of the 20 ESCs


in Texas. In addition to transportation, instructional and support services, it includes child nutrition, educational technology, facility analysis, employee professional


development,


special


education, teacher prep materials and even a printing department, just to name a few. The ESCs were created in the 1970s


to oversee a school bus driver certifica- tion program after the Texas Legislature began requiring certifications for driv- ers. Region 4 in Houston is the largest. But school district transportation staff needed a host of other support and training services, too, which leadership at Region 4 recognized. So, in April of 2007, Region 4 hired


Kennington from DPS as well as Marisa Weisinger, now the technical specialist at ITS. Soon Jaime Gallegos, a retired school district transportation director, came onboard along with Lane Emmitt, Virginia French and Isabelle Nieves to round out the team. Four decades ago, Kennington ex-


plained, all ESCs were funded by the state legislature at nearly 100 percent. But by 2003, that funding was cut by more than $1 million, and then that amount was cut in half during the most recent legislative cycle. “What we do (revenue from services


provided) goes back into Region 4 to build the next program and to feed the beast,” said Kennington. “There’s just no local money. We serve 51 school districts in Region 4, but the service center itself provides services to many school districts across the state. For example, the Braille department alone does tests for more than 20 states.” The demand for training, in particular,


dictated that Region 4 transportation services could thrive beyond the Texas


www.stnonline.com 37


Photos: Jaime Gallegos


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