Irma O’Connell
Irma O’Connell | Bus Monitor Widefield School District 3, Colorado
was selected as the 2022 Bus Monitor of the Year with the Colorado State Pupil Transportation Association. She started her career as a paraprofessional at an elementary school in Widefield School District 3, 27 years ago. Four years into her position, it was combined with transportation. “The rest is history,” she
said, adding that she is a special needs monitor and assists the training team with restraint and wheelchair securement. “My biggest challenge this year is surrounding the new state
intervention with the preschool enrollment process and how that directly affects transportation,” she shared. “Since we transport preschoolers in restraints for safety purposes, it is in my wheelhouse. I am flexing my schedule to take other necessary
routes to combat this.” She said her favorite project has been the integration for the training team, a process during which she shares her expertise and experience with new hires as well as refreshers for continuing staff. “This process assures consistency in the safety of our children,” she said. “My favorite part of this job is the interaction with my students. I often see them around town, and they remember me as someone that cared about them. It is amazingly rewarding.” Laurie Buck, a bus driver for the district, said O’Connell is the
epitome of what a bus monitor should be. “She has a strong passion for the students and for the job,” Buck wrote. “She is an expert in working with SPED students and all restraint types. She trains all new drivers and monitors in our district on restraints and how to work with special needs students. … Irma is also a team player and steps in to cover routes when someone is out. She pitched in to help many other monitors and drivers to clean and finalize their buses for the summer, when most of the others took off the last day of work.”
Thank you to all the attendees at STN Expo Reno that voted for us in the Innovation Choice Award!
2023 Winner of Best Hardware with our Wayfinder, Samsung Tab Active 4 Pro Telematics tablet with RFID card reader, rugged mount and cards.
For a second consecutive year winner of Best Software with Routefinder PLUS.
All part of our "One Partner, One Solution" offering to school districts and bus contractors across North America.
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