School Transportation News Magazine | September 2009


[Top Story]


TSSI’s Robert Hertan spent the last afternoon of this year’s STN EXPO by training more than 100 attendees on how to “observe, assess and report” any suspicious activities on or around school buses. TSA’s First Observer replaces School Bus Watch.


Is First Observer Training the First Step in


Right Direction? By Stephane Babcock


I 18


t wasn’t the premiere stop on the Transportation Security Administra- tion’s new First Observer program world tour, but it was one that made a positive impression on many in at-


tendance on the final day of this year’s STN EXPO. “I feel there seems to be more behind


this program,” said Ralph Knight, Napa Valley (Calif.) Unified transportation di- rector and alt fuels guru. “[School] Bus Watch just died on the vine real fast.” Te class, which consisted of a short


overview and then a more detailed “train the trainer” session, boasted an atten- dance of more than 100 participants, including some conference speakers, on the EXPO’s final day of workshops. Like Knight, many of the attendees had been through the previous American Trucking Associations version of the program. “It focuses on school buses only; it is dif-


ferent from School Bus Watch,” said Kathy DeWitt, an operations supervisor for Dur- ham School Services. “School Bus Watch seemed more of an ‘offshoot’ or an after- thought from Highway Watch.” Explanations of the breakdown of pos-


sible motives for terrorist attacks and the different stages of planning, including re-


hearsal and attack, made for an eye-open- ing experience for some. Te training also described the existence of a “homegrown terrorists,” someone who had become dis- gruntled and decided to take action. Cit- ed as an example was Timothy McVeigh, the man convicted and put to death for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. According to Charles Hall, president of


TSA contractor HMS Company, the pro- gram’s foundation has not changed. It in- cludes six priorities established by the De- partment of Homeland Security: outreach and recruiting; planning; training; call cen- ter; information sharing and analysis; and program management. “Work in [these] priorities have af-


forded us an opportunity to expand our efforts to encompass metrics and updates that will serve to make this initiative one that can be easily embraced and support- ed,” assured Hall. Te training has also been enhanced


to include the most recent terrorist alerts and a callback mandate, which assures that every reported incident receives an update within 72 hours of the initial call. Te information sharing and analysis cen- ters are also now staffed with intelligence


analysts and transportation industry pro- fessionals. Tese include individuals with truck and bus driving experience who process active CDL licenses. For many in attendance, the training


was not overly complicated and could be easily relayed back to their drivers. But others called for a test or review process for the newly trained instructors. “Just because people sit through the


training doesn’t automatically make them the right candidate to do the training,” added Alexandra Robinson, San Diego Unified’s transportation director and 2009 STN EXPO chair. Montana State Director Maxine Mou-


geot found it hard to have the same ex- citement that she had when the program was first announced last year, and she ex- plained her state’s system already works quickly and effectively. “We have a phone tree system in place


and we have a quick responder phone di- rectory that each driver can have in his bus. I am just not sure how effective this program will be since we worked very hard in the beginning to involve our driv- ers — they are skeptical that anything will come of it,” said Mougeot. Mougeot wasn’t


the only one unim-


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68