I
t is one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game. But student transportation departments do not have as much leeway on the field of public opinion. Get things right on the opening day of school or be sent to the proverbial bench. That reality can make school startup the most anticipated yet
dreaded day of the entire year. All summer is spent prepping to welcome children back into the school district and onto school buses. It is apparent this time of year the schools that hit home runs and those that that swung and missed. Unfortunately for some, this school year was more challenging
and stressful than in years past, due mostly in part to staff shortag- es. Various news articles reported horror stories from the first day of school, resulting in transportation delays, students dropped off at the wrong stop, and even worse canceled routes or school in general due to transportation shortages. (These fail to mention that many more school districts had successful first days.) Michelle Smith, the special education coordinator for Chesa-
peake Public Schools in Virginia, said her biggest lesson learned at startup is to expect the unexpected. “As soon as we feel like we are ready for that first day a few curve balls always come our way that will require last minute changes and adjustments,” she said. “I have learned to always be ready for the next curve ball.” She added that when it comes to transportation and education,
there is no one size fits all. Instead, she said that transportation has to be ready to learn and grow with each new experience as each child’s needs are difference. “The start of school always comes with unique challenge,” Smith noted. For instance, Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville,
Kentucky made national headlines in August after delaying school by a week due to transportation challenges experienced on the first day. Local news articles reported that newly implemented bus routes and start times resulted in some students not getting home until almost 10 p.m. As of mid-September, a district spokesperson told School
Transportation News that officials were still in the process of figuring out specifically what went wrong. But Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio provided insight on what could have been done better during several news conferences. He explained that the technology used by transportation was antiquated, and the district lacked a communication system between bus drivers, school sites and parents to inform of any problems or delays. “One of the greatest errors we had was not having effective communication with parents, and we are correcting that,” he said.
The “Mendoza Line” is baseball jargon for a .200 batting average, considered the threshold for offensive futility at the Major League Baseball level.
www.stnonline.com 19
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
