Resources Special Needs Related Articles Georgia Bus Drivers Punch Ticket to National Special Needs Roadeo
Georgia Bus Drivers Punch Ticket to National Special Needs Roadeo PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ryan Gray   
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 04:22

David O'Keefe and Jacquelyn Turner of Clayton County Public Schools near Atlanta will represent the state at next month's 2010 National Special Needs Team Safety Roadeo in Orlando, Fla.

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Georgia state winners David O'Keeffe and Jacquelyn Turner hold their special needs Roadeo Trophy. They are flanked by the fellow Clayton County drivers Paulette Raper (far left) and Angie Dorris, who finished in fifth place.
The duo bested drivers from across Georgia at the recent state qualifying event. In addition to navigating the Roadeo course, which included the serpentine, a railroad crossing, alley dock, emergency evacuations, and wheelchair lift deployment, the drivers had to also manage challenging student passengers who were portrayed by adult participants.  This judged how effectively teams handled students with emotional disabilities as they act out on the bus.

O'Keeffe said, for him, the most difficult part of the state competition was the evacuation, which required the drivers to safely evacuate four special needs children within two minutes while water was coming into the bus. The CCPS team earned a perfect score on this portion of the competition.

“The most difficult part of the competition was the emergency evacuation drill,” said O’Keeffe. “You are judged on your ability to make a split second decision.”

He added that credit for the team's win goes to his wife, Cherry O'Keeffe, who competed on Clayton County's 2008 state competition team that finished second in the state and ninth at that year's national contest.

“This was the first time Clayton County Public Schools hosted the competition, and there was a lot of enthusiasm from dozens of volunteers who donated their time to support the event", said John Lyles, the district's director of transportation. “We are proud of our teams and the confirmation of the district’s commitment to safely transporting our students.”

The 13th National Special Needs Team Roadeo is scheduled for March 6. It is held in conjunction with the National Conference on Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers.