Speaker Snapshots

An introduction to a few of the many speakers
on hand for this year’s conference

Stephane Babcock | Associate Editor

Attendees of the 14th Annual School Transportation News School Bus EXPO Conference and Trade Show will leave Reno with knowledge of new techniques to handle the fiscal, maintenance, human resources, security, Head Start, special needs, and management responsibilities that go along with being a member of the school bus industry. There will be some familiar — as well as some fresh — faces at the EXPO this year, so we decided to highlight of few of the speakers of the more than 40 workshops in all and give some background before you attend one of the many presentations that will be available during the conference.

Robert Brasky

Child Safety Seat Pre-Con
Robert Brasky and Eugene Richardson, a newcomer to the EXPO, will be bringing back the NHTSA-developed workshop on proper installation of child safety seats on school buses. The eight-hour, pre-conference course will discuss the proper installation of child seats for students up to 80 pounds, and will focus on child, infant and convertible seats.

“Some school districts are just starting to use child seating,” said Brasky, a traffic safety officer with the Lake Zurich, Ill. Police Department. He, along with Richardson, was part of the first state class to be certified in 1998 as National Safe Kids Passenger Safety Technician and became certified as an instructor two years later.

“We give them the information on how to go to the manufacturers and find out what type of seat belts they need.”

One important aspect to be discussed is the misuse of these seats.

“We talk about where to put the straps and how to figure out the right seat in relation to the weight and height of a child, and how to securely install the child safety seat with the seat belt,” said Richardson. “We have update classes when new seats come out. The technology is changing all the time.”

Properly installing child seats can keep districts safe from unnecessary litigation that could result from an accident.

“The national average shows us that 90 to 95 percent of child seats are incorrectly installed,” said Brasky, pointing out that school districts are amazed to see what’s actually involved with an install, all the tricks of the trade the two have learned over the years and the mistakes they have witnessed first hand.

“We had a school district drill holes into the floor of the school bus to attach the seat belts to hold the child seat in place,” said Brasky.

Dr. Nancy Blackwelder

Keeping Kids in Check and Safe on the Bus
Close to two decades ago, Dr. Nancy Blackwelder was shot by a student while working as an assistant principal at Pinellas Park High School in Largo, Florida. Thrust into the spotlight as a result of the tragedy, Blackwelder has trained organizations across the country on the importance of student safety and the need to further train bus drivers on the diverse nature of student behavior.

“I had to look around to find what solutions were available. Cameras don’t prevent violence, they record it, and cops can only be in one place at one time,” said Blackwelder. “The rapport you have with the kids is going to be the best weapon against school violence.”

One of the main ideas of her presentation deals with the two sides of the behavior modification coin: When you catch them doing something wrong, punish them; when you catch them doing something right, reward them.

“Drivers just haven’t had this type of training. There’s not a lot of people who train drivers to deal with kids,” said Blackwelder, pointing out that what works with one student one day may not work another day, or with another student.

While revealing her “bag of tricks,” Blackwelder will discuss the specific requirements of special needs students.

“Drivers for special needs students need to have empathy for the kids. These kids can do anything, it just may take them a little longer,” she added.

Drivers must remember to be specific and clear when with handling students with processing deficiencies, since they sometimes have trouble understanding abstract ideas.

“You can tell them you’ll be there at 12:45 to pick them up, but if you say ‘quarter to one,’ they have trouble understanding. You have to give them enough time and space to process the information,” said Blackwelder.

Ray Trejo	Garilee Ogden

Learning on the Bus Ride
Ray Trejo’s background in education and role as director of transportation for Deming Public Schools in New Mexico has taken a simple idea and used it to improve behavior on the bus, as well as student test scores. With his colleague, Deming Director of Accountability Garilee Ogden, he has turned one of the district’s buses into a moving, motivating classroom.

When the students first step on the bus, they are greeted and reminded of the expectations, something Trejo refers to as proactive teaching. They are then able to select from books or worksheets at the front of the bus. The program makes use of as much of the bus as possible.

“We decided to utilize the empty space on the ceiling of the bus since it would not encroach or limit the space in the bus. We also purchased magnetic pocket folders that were placed on the wall under each window at each seat for the storing of the learning manipulatives (magnetic sight words, magna doodles for writing, letter identification and rhyming word toys),” said Trejo.

Deming Public Schools' Bus 392

Between the first and second semesters, discipline referrals have dropped from 30 to three. To measure changes in the students’ scholastic achievement, short-cycle test scores were taken before and after. Students saw average gains of 8 to 13 percent in subjects such as language, math, reading and science.

The students are not the only ones learning from the experience. Trejo and Ogden had to train the driver to proactively approach the students. Although she does not teach the student lessons, the driver quizzes them when the bus stops at different schools on multiplication facts, strategies in reading comprehension, the scientific process and more.

“Now instead of hearing students complaining about who might have pushed them or who sat in their seat, students are saying, ‘Did you grade my paper?’ and ‘How did I do on my homework?’” said Trejo.

This summer the program will be expanded to five more buses, making sure they will be ready for the students in the fall.

“We’re looking at putting it on some special needs buses and buses that come from the border with our limited-English-speaking students,” said Trejo.

Funding School Security Improvements
Combining a knowledge of grant writing and school safety not only makes Sonayia Shepherd an asset to the school districts she has helped, but a weapon against violence. With a background that includes helping schools receive a total of $10 million in grants, Shepherd’s presentations will help attendees secure funding for many security hot topics.

Sonayia Shepherd

“I am currently working with about 10 schools on the latest Crisis Planning Grant (REMS) to fund items such as GPS on school buses. I would urge transportation personnel to meet with their school’s grant writer and let them know their needs,” said Shepherd.

Although the words “grant writing” may freeze some in their tracks, attendees will discover a little-known fact: It’s not as hard as you think.

“Proposal development is simply following the submission guidelines and answering the questions on the application. That’s it!” explained Shepherd.

Shepherd will also be conducting one-on-one security plan evaluations to a limited number of attendees. This will allow some transportation officials to ask questions outside of a group setting, voice their concerns about safety and get solutions.

“I believe that when evaluating safety for transportation departments, turn to those who work there. Most people reading this can think of at least three things that their department can improve upon. So that is where you begin,” advised Shepherd. “Write those things down and find solutions to improve them.”

According to Shepherd, tragedies like the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings teach that no school system is immune, and the time to start thinking about school safety is now.

Dr. Howard “Mac” Dashney

Saving Money Collectively
This past March, the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation (MAPT ) held a summit to discuss the effect the state’s budget deficit was having on school transportation. Dr. Howard “Mac” Dashney, a consultant to the pupil transportation industry and owner of the Pupil Transportation Operation and Management Institute, will discuss these problems and give attendees solutions to the common burdens brought on by diminishing school budgets.

“The state of Michigan goes through 26 million gallons of diesel fuel, but we purchase it 95,000 gallons at a time. If we bought it 26 million gallons at a time through the state, we’d save two to three cents per gallon, which adds up to a good chunk of change,” said Dashney.

This form of collective purchasing can be used for school buses and bus parts as well, a practice that some counties are currently enacting.

“We don’t leverage our purchase power; it’s almost criminal,” said Dashney. “You can’t work individually anymore, you have to work cooperatively.”

Examples of groups working together can be seen all over the state. One of the school districts and townships in Michigan share a maintenance facility. Another school district is working with the city to share fuel purchases with the police and fire departments, buildings and grounds, and so on. The MAPT and Michigan School Business Officials are taking a look at doing a future contract for diesel fuel. There is also a county where all the school districts are buying their bus parts together.

“It’s pretty simple stuff. It should have happened years ago. As soon as some school districts get their taxpayer money they take care of themselves. They don’t take out the time to find out how they can cooperate, consolidate and coordinate with other school districts,” said Dashney.