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Industry Set to Meet in MEMPHIS for Annual Conferences
By Ryan Gray Pupil transporters from across the country will be rocking
and rolling in Memphis, Tenn., later this month when NAPT and NASDPTS open their respective annual conferences in the River City. All involved are sure to feast on southern barbecue as well as a full slate of educational courses. NASDPTS will begin the industry’s week-plus of activities with
its board meeting on Oct. 18 before opening its presentation and workshop schedule the following day at the Memphis Marriott Hotel. Some 30 topics will be discussed, ranging from bus acci- dent debriefings to dealing with sleep apnea, and from the future of Wi-Fi on school buses to NASDPTS’ second national stop-arm count conducted earlier this year. “We’re looking forward to another full and informative pro-
gram for our NASDPTS conference in Memphis,” said Max Christensen, program chair and successor to Mike Simmons as the association’s president at the close of the conference Oct. 22. “We’ll be talking about a number of innovative ideas and look- ing into the future of what our school transportation industry has to offer. Along with updates from federal officials plus a look at transportation procedures both nationally and around the world, I think we’ll have something for just about everyone.” Simmons pointed out that NASDPTS is also partnering with
NAPT to hold a couple of joint presentations during the overlap of the two conferences on Sunday, Oct. 21 and Monday, Oct. 22. Many NASDPTS members will remain in Memphis to attend the NAPT Summit trade show later in the week. “In doing that, the membership of both associations can reap
the benefits of hearing some big-name speakers without missing anything at our respective sessions,” Simmons told School Trans- portation News. “I feel like this is a real step forward in continuing the great working relationship between our organizations.” School bus manufacturers, the Suppliers Council and the State
and National Associations Council will also provide reports to NASDPTS attendees.
NAPT TO HOLD KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS COURSE, SESSIONS NAPT, meanwhile, kicks off on Oct. 20 with the return of the
association’s Leading Every Day Initiative, or LED. Te first 50 regis- trants will take in a keynote presentation on “Framing the Debate — How to Lead a Grassroots Effort to Bring About Change.” “We are still finalizing the details and logistics of our 2012 Lead-
ing Every Day Initiative, but I can tell you that it will highlight the community responsibility of school transportation, and keys to effective policy making will be a central topic of discussion and ex- ploration this year,” said NAPT Executive Director Michael Martin.
24 School Transportation News Magazine October 2012
NAPT’s Professional Development Series (PDS) also starts on
Oct. 20. Included is an eight-hour Student Transportation Orien- tation course that provides an overview of contemporary pupil transportation. Te NAPT KPI (key performance indicators) task force will also present a four-hour course that explores best prac- tices when collecting, analyzing and using data to make school transportation decisions. Te project arose from sessions held last year in Cincinnati. “We are planning to announce and explain numerous KPIs
that our project team has been developing and pilot testing,” said Martin, adding that data will be discussed “extensively” dur- ing a general session on Oct. 21 and a follow-up session the next day. “It will include an in-depth explanation of the process we have used to develop our KPIs.” Other PDS courses offered on Oct. 20 are “Accident Inves-
tigation,” “Presentation Skills,” “Introduction to Leadership & Management,” “Team Communications Strategies,” “Data-Driven Decision Making” and “School Bus Routing & Scheduling.” Michael Eugene, chief operating officer of Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla., will present the opening key-
Photo courtesy of Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
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