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EDITORIAL DESK The First Step By Stephane Babcock


take my kids to their first day of school. For my oldest daughter, it will be her second year in high school, and the transition from 9th to 10th grade will be an easy one. Te same goes for my youngest son. He will be finishing up elementary school this year and will be seeing most of the same faces from last year. But for the other two children, my oldest son and youngest daughter, today will be the first steps


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in a new world. For my son, he will be making the leap into middle school, going from the top of the totem pole in his last school to the bottom rung of the ladder. He will do great, but I can remember the feelings of nervousness that went along with that first step into junior high — as it was called when I attended so long ago. My youngest daughter, ready and armed with her new backpack and lunch box, will begin her academic career today. She is ready — and has been since she graduated preschool — and I know that she, like her siblings, will do great. It is that first step that is always the hardest. No matter your age or what that first step may


entail, it is never easy. I can remember my first step into the offices of STN. It was a surprise at first. My soon-to-be bosses were all wearing shorts and the mood was much more relaxed than I had been used to. I had on my shirt and tie (something both abnormal for me and extremely uncomfortable), and I was ready to take the first step into a new career, one that has taken me on both an interesting journey and helped me to learn more about myself. But it would have never begun without that first step.


C Tis month we are heading down a new and (hopefully) in- M


Luckily, for many of the school children starting off in new


directions this year, the school bus — and the industry that stands beside it — is there to help them on their way.


teresting path by talking about school transportation in other countries. Te dilemma is the same — safe transport to keep kids in school — but the way it’s done can change, as seen when drop- ping by different bus stops around the world. Tis month we talk to Sami Aldubikhi from the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education, who I was able to sit and talk with at the STN EXPO this past July. His dilemma? Finding a way to transport the female students in his country in a culturally-appropriate manner. Anson Stewart, a recent college graduate and school bus aficionado, makes his first appearance this month. Stewart, with the help of a grant he was awarded, will be traveling to South America and Africa to follow school buses once they have been retired from regular route service in the U.S. Along the way, he will take in the local customs and keep us filled in on his many adventures.


Y CM MY CY CMY K First steps are also on the minds of a number of kindergartners (not just mine) and their parents


and teachers. While many attended either preschool or Head Start, fewer probably rode a school bus, and they may be surprised to find that their yellow bus is missing the seat belts they’ve gotten used to in mom and dad’s car. But, for some of the students of Buffalo (N.Y.) Public Schools, that transition will not be necessary, as the district is now embracing the use of lap/shoulder belts on their school buses. As a native of western New York, I can remember a few bus rides that I would have felt more comfortable about if a seat belt was strapping me in. If you have ever driven in or around Buffalo after one of its famous ice storms, I’m sure you understand why. No matter your age, where you live in the world or what it might actually entail, the first step is


always the hardest. Luckily, for many of the school children starting off in new directions this year, the school bus — and the industry that stands beside it — is there to help them on their way. ■


hen you read this, it will be about three to four weeks since I actually wrote it. It’s not an easy task to write something that will still retain its freshness


almost a month into the future. For example, by the time you read this, the first month of the 2010-2011 school year will have gone by (hopefully with very few problems). But, while I sit here and write this, I am preparing to


C M Y CM MY CY CMY K


86 School Transportation News Magazine October 2010 Oct10_STN.indb 86 9/14/10 12:19 PM


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