2012 STN LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNER
border. Soon, ITS was born. “What I’m really seeing is that many
states and districts and others contin- ue to cut, and they just don’t have as much as they had in the past or aren’t as flexible as they used to be,” continued Kennington. “One example of our re- sponse (at ITS) is the program we doing for the Shop Supervisor Academy. What Marisa (Weisinger) did in writing that program was to help a new or aspiring shop supervisor. Most states don’t have anything out there for that.” At this writing, ITS had conducted
three Shop Supervisor Academy semi- nars. The feedback was so positive that Arkansas and West Virginia are among other states that have also expressed interest. Meanwhile, ITS is working with the state of Colorado on school bus driver training, Head Start-derived training and proper installation of car seats in school buses. ITS also per- formed a departmental review for the state of Ohio to help ensure programs were running as efficient as possible. Similar reviews were slated for Georgia and South Dakota. Kennington and his team have also launched a Transporta-
Leading By Example Kennington got his start in the industry in 1986
Kennington, shown above during this summer’s STN EXPO in Reno, Nev., is well known for teaching the NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses seminar at state and national conferences.
tion Director Academy. “We’re going to try to incorporate
part or all of it for those who want to sign up for it,” said Simmons on ITS’ Shop Supervisor Academy. He added that these types of innovative programs are the reason why Kennington is de- serving of the leadership award. “The leadership award fits Charley
perfectly. He’s always been a step-up kind of guy in what he’s done.” ■
working on then Durham Transportation’s Gonzales, Texas, contract. A year later he moved on to Durham’s corporate office, and then worked at contracts in Waco, Robinson and LaVega before being hired by DPS in 1999. Until the spring of 2007, Kennington served as state
director of transportation at the DPS. There, he oversaw driver certifications, school bus accident reporting, drug and alcohol testing, and safety programs. Now with ITS, Kennington leads school bus training
opportunities for the counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty and Waller coun- ties as well as for any interested school districts in the state and elsewhere. It all equates to a mountain of work that is accomplished through a team effort. “The lucky part of all of this is I don’t really have to
motivate the staff because they are totally motivated themselves,” explained Kennington. “They do what they need to do. I’ve always said that about anyone in the school bus industry. It gets in their blood. We feel like we make a difference. The job we do is going to help keep a kid safe.”
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Jerry Newton
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