By Molly McGee-Hewitt, PhD, CAE NAPT Executive Director & CEO So often in leadership and hiring, we focus on experience, training, and licenses. School district HR offices verify employment and credentials and ensure that all requirements are checked off. They do an excellent job of confirming that applicants meet the established criteria. What we often fail to discuss are the leadership skills that are hard to qualify and quantify. This month, we begin a column series on the leadership skills and attributes of successful transportation professionals. For the next twelve months, we will carefully explore these leadership talents that are often incorrectly labeled as “soft skills.” If we were to design a pyramid outlining the leadership of successful transportation officials, we would start at the bottom with trust. Trust is the foundation of a successful leader. It is a core value that enables leadership to flourish. Trust is a character quality that sustains both your integrity and your career in a myriad of situations. Without a doubt, the foremost author on this subject is Stephen R. Covey. In The Speed of Trust, he addresses this issue with truth, grace, and facts. While I am a fan of the Covey family, this book is extraordinary. If you are going to read one book this year, make it this one. Why is trust the foundation? When we trust people, we give them our support, respect, and loyalty. We understand that they are people of their word. When they make a promise or an agreement, they follow through. They do what they say they are going to do and exhibit leadership through both actions and words. You can count on them. You know they are true to their word and that they pay attention. If they are wrong, they admit it and correct it. If they have an issue, they do not gossip or complain; they address it with care and concern. If you have ever worked in a toxic environment, you know that trust is hard to find. People do not tell the truth. Agreements are not kept. Confidences are shared inappropriately. Who you know may be more important than what you know. Leaders who have a high level of trust from their staff and superiors experience less turnover and earn respect for their units or divisions. Covey comments that trust builds slowly, one kept promise or agreement at a time. One behavior, comment, or action builds our trust. Lying is not an option for the trust-founded leader. They may be diplomatic in their words or actions, but they exemplify trust every day. New employees at all levels enter our organizations with a clean slate. They have the opportunity to build their trust base from day one. Trust should become their goal. As they begin their roles, they recognize that their success is contingent on both their ability to do the job and their ability to build support. They build their own future without intentionally damaging the reputation of those who came before them. In my career, I have worked with some amazing, trusted colleagues and leaders. Watching them navigate challenges in their careers and lives has been a wonderful education. From them, I saw the value of trust and the impact their character had on our team. I believed them, counted on them, and supported them. I knew they appreciated this and reciprocated. In a toxic environment, I encountered almost the opposite. There was little accountability, a great deal of finger-pointing and blame, and dishonesty was common. To survive, you had to fight to maintain your character. Like the positive examples I witnessed, that toxic experience sharpened my appreciation for trust and strong, positive leadership. While trust builds slowly, it can be lost in a heartbeat. Distrust occurs when words and actions are in conflict—when you tell one story to one person and a different story to another. One lie or misstep can cause trust to dissolve immediately. Our words and actions have consequences. It is interesting to me that when people behave in a non-trustworthy manner, they are often loud and aggressive when confronted. They may threaten legal action or retribution. They may try to intimidate you into believing or accepting their position. Truly trustworthy leaders do not need to do this. When my children were young and did something wrong, they often feared telling the truth. They did not want to be grounded or lose privileges. When they lied or acted inappropriately, they denied it and avoided accountability. For me, those moments demanded honesty and responsibility. As a parent, I worked to instill character in my children, and trust was paramount. In my home and in my career, if you tell me the truth, I will do my best to help us work through it. If you lie to me, the issue escalates and can damage the relationship. What is your trust quotient? Is trust the foundation of your character? What about your workplace: is it a trustworthy place to work? Are you a trusted and valued leader? None of us is perfect, and that is a given. We are smart and adaptable. If we fail to build trust, we can correct course and strengthen it.

  By Brad Beauchamp School buses are the safest form of on-road transportation in the United States, bar none. Every day, roughly 480,000 school buses transport about 25 million students to and from school. That remarkable safety record did not happen by accident. It is the result of decades of engineering focus, regulatory evolution, and a deep-rooted commitment to protecting what matters most: our children. At Blue Bird, that commitment is woven into the fabric of who we are. As we approach our 100-year anniversary in 2027, our long-standing motto, “Your child’s safety is our business,” continues to guide every design decision we make. Safety is the foundation we build upon. Engineering Safety from the Inside Out The modern school bus owes much of its safety profile to the transition to all-steel body construction in the 1930s. That philosophy remains central today. Our buses utilize full-steel roof bows and robust structural designs intended to protect passengers in the most demanding circumstances. We have also made critical structural tests standard that others may still treat as optional. The Colorado Rack and Load Test, which emerged after a serious accident, ensures that roof deflection does not impede emergency window and door operation. The Kentucky Pole Test addresses side-impact integrity. These are embedded standards because structural integrity is not negotiable. Beyond the frame itself, we continue to strengthen occupant protection. In mid-2024, we made seat belts standard on our buses, ensuring every student benefits from advanced protection without added expense. When it comes to student safety, cost shouldn’t be a barrier, and at Blue Bird, it isn’t. Districts can provide the highest level of protection without added cost, making safety accessible for every community. In October 2025, we introduced another industry first: a driver’s side airbag in a conventional Type C school bus. This innovation represents the first time such a feature has been offered in this segment. Protecting the driver is essential. A well-protected, confident driver is better positioned to protect students. Visibility: The Critical Advantage Safety is not just about surviving an impact. It is about preventing one in the first place. That is why visibility, both for the driver and for other motorists, is an area of continuous improvement. When the Blue Bird conventional platform was redesigned in the early 2000s, visibility was a central consideration. Drivers need clear sightlines to see objects close to the front of the vehicle and around the loading zone. Good design reduces blind spots and improves reaction time. More recently, we have made LED headlamps standard. They offer brighter illumination, improved forward visibility, and greater durability. Importantly, they are also retrofittable on certain older buses, allowing fleets to upgrade safety performance without purchasing entirely new vehicles. We are also exploring advancements in driver-assist technologies, instrumentation, and camera systems. Modern camera systems are becoming more sophisticated, offering improved clarity and expanded viewing angles. At the same time, we are careful to strike the right balance. Technology should assist drivers and not distract them. The Passenger Loading Zone: A Shared Responsibility While students are exceptionally safe inside the bus, many tragic incidents occur outside it, particularly in the passenger loading zone. Entrance and egress demand heightened vigilance. We continue to emphasize public awareness campaigns reminding motorists that when a school bus has its red lights activated and is stopped, traffic must stop. Driver awareness in surrounding vehicles is critical. No engineering solution can fully compensate for inattentive or impatient drivers. That said, we support a wide array of lighting enhancements, camera systems, and visibility features designed to make the iconic yellow school bus even more conspicuous in all conditions. Some are factory-installed options; others are easily integrated through dealer or field installation. Our philosophy is flexibility: give customers the pathways and infrastructure to integrate the solutions that meet their unique needs. Customization with Purpose One of the strengths of Blue Bird is our ability to build buses in highly customized configurations. Districts and contractors operate under different state mandates, geographic challenges, and budget realities. Our job is to design vehicles that can integrate emerging safety technologies, whether installed at the factory or added later in the field. For example, anti-pinch entrance doors may be standard in one state but unnecessary in another. By engineering buses with integration in mind, we ensure that adding or retrofitting such features is straightforward and efficient. Looking Ahead The future of school bus safety will continue to center on visibility, driver assistance, and thoughtful integration of emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence, when applied appropriately, may play a role in enhancing awareness systems. As driver shortages persist, intuitive systems that help new drivers quickly familiarize themselves with vehicles and conduct thorough pre-trip inspections will become increasingly valuable. But innovation must always serve a clear purpose. We are not interested in adding technology for its own sake. We are committed to launching the right solutions; those that genuinely benefit school districts, contractors, drivers, and, most importantly, the students they transport. Brad Beauchamp is EV Product Segment leader at Blue Bird. Visit www.blue-bird.com for more information.

School BUSRide spoke with Kara Arundel, senior reporter for K-12 Dive (www.k12dive.com), about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) marking its 50th anniversary. She spoke about the milestone’s significance, the impact of IDEA on transportation, and how transportation professionals can continue to stay involved and enhance services for students with disabilities. We are marking 50 years of IDEA. How significant a moment is that, in your opinion? Kara Arundel: It’s a significant anniversary because IDEA began as a civil rights movement on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. Before IDEA, there was no federal guarantee of a free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Now, some states did go ahead and make that guarantee, but it wasn’t uniform nationwide. What I also think is significant is the evolution over time of the implementation of IDEA. When the federal law first began, students with disabilities were allowed in the school building; that was a big moment. But fast-forwarding to now, there are accountability systems in place and best practices to ensure that students with disabilities have access to grade-level academic standards and that they are meaningfully included in other aspects of school life. How would you characterize the impact of IDEA on our education system and on the lives of the children it has served? Do you feel it has achieved what its framers set out to achieve all those years ago? Arundel: I think the impact of IDEA has been tremendous. I mean, parents have told me really heartbreaking stories of their children getting a disability diagnosis at a very young age and being told what their child wouldn’t be able to do, both as a young child and even looking into adulthood. It was always negative. I think IDEA has helped change that mindset and change the future of millions of students and children with disabilities because they’re getting educational support and peer interactions; interactions with their classmates who don’t have disabilities. I’m not an expert in the day-to-day, but I’ve really thought about this question because I think it’s important. One thing I’d say is that it should start with relationships and relationship building. That’s something that I hear a lot from special education experts. For kids, the school bus driver is the hero. So, the bus driver’s kindness and attention to each student and their family matters a lot. Is it perfect everywhere? No. But there has been a major focus for decades on supporting students with disabilities and also supporting those educators who work with those students and, really importantly, the families who have children with disabilities. To repeat something I heard recently: “Don’t forget that special education students are general education students first.” Our members are engaged daily in getting yellow school buses to transport 25 million children to their education, and that includes many students with disabling conditions. Can you comment on that role that we play? Arundel: Under IDEA, the student’s individualized education program team (whichincludes administrators, educators, parents, related service providers, and sometimes the students when they’re older) needs to consider whether each student needs transportation accommodations to support academic progress. That might mean having an aide support a student on the bus. Or it could mean the student is entitled to a pickup right in front of their home. Whatever the accommodation, it’s based on each student’s individualized need on a case-by-case basis. Under IDEA, this is at no cost to parents if the accommodation is listed on the student’s IEP. But it’s important to say that doesn’t mean school systems must transport students with disabilities separately from general education students. IDEA has a provision called “least restrictive environment,” which is about determining the best setting for students with disabilities, starting with the most general inclusion alongside their non-disabled peers. This applies to transportation, too. So, students with disabilities can and often do ride alongside their non-disabled peers when that’s the best setting. But sometimes students need a more restrictive setting, which might mean a specialized school bus. Again, this is decided case-by-case. How can we get more training and preparation for school bus drivers to help them do their jobs for students with disabilities and IEPs? Arundel: I’m not an expert in the day-to-day, but I’ve really thought about this question because I think it’s important. One thing I’d say is that it should start with relationships and relationship building. That’s something that I hear a lot from special education experts. For kids, the school bus driver is the hero. So, the bus driver’s kindness and attention to each student and their family matters a lot. The other aspect is safety. In addition to driving a bus and staying alert to traffic, a bus driver is monitoring student behavior. If a student with disabilities has accommodations specific to their bus ride, like special seating or loading/unloading protocols. The driver really should be aware of those. That goes back to relationships between transportation experts and the school or district administration. What do you see coming on the horizon that gives you hope for IDEA and special education, including implications for transportation? Arundel: I think we’ll see more innovative practices. Hopefully, that includes helpful technology for drivers as they safely transport students. I’m also thinking of overall road safety. I live in Washington, D.C., and some of these roads are really difficult to navigate in my small car. So I’m hopeful for more road improvements, maybe backed by technology like road-calming practices that can help traffic safety overall. Specifically for school buses, cameras that capture cars illegally passing stopped buses are hopefully helping decrease that behavior. As for special education, districts are struggling with teacher shortages as well as driver shortages, and that pressure extends across the entire school system, which all supports students with disabilities. That makes it harder to ensure best practices reach every area – not just the classroom but extracurriculars and the school bus. That’s why school experts Read More >

At Indian River Central School District, student transportation is defined by a simple but uncompromising goal: no fatalities and no missing children. For Transportation Supervisor Cecil Sisson, that mission guides every decision his department makes, especially when it comes to technology. Serving more than 3,500 students daily in New York’s North Country, the district’s transportation department manages a complex operation that includes regular routes, athletics, 4-H programs, tutoring, McKinney-Vento services and specialized transportation for students with unique physical needs. Sisson credits his team, including an assistant director, a transportation secretary and three clerks, along with drivers and aides, for delivering consistent service through harsh winters, road closures and ever-changing schedules. Supporting that effort is a longstanding partnership with Transfinder, a national provider of routing and transportation management solutions. Indian River utilizes Routefinder PLUS as its routing software, synchronizing nightly with student information data to maintain accurate, up-to-date records. The district has also upgraded to Viewfinder, a secure communication platform that provides building-level staff with precise transportation details. For Sisson, the value of Transfinder lies in both flexibility and accessibility. He describes the platform as highly user-driven, empowering districts to explore features, customize workflows and make adjustments without waiting for permissions or outside intervention. “Don’t be afraid to get in there,” he advised peers. “Even if you mess something up, there’s always a reset button.” That flexibility is essential in a district where no two schools operate the same way. Some buildings serve approximately 250 students, while others approach 1,000. Viewfinder allows Indian River to tailor information access based on each building’s daily needs. Transportation operates as the “big umbrella,” distributing relevant pieces of information to administrators and office staff so they can confidently respond to parent inquiries about pickup times, drop-off locations or schedule changes. Transfinder’s solutions are designed to streamline routing, improve data accuracy and enhance communication between transportation departments, schools and families. At Indian River, those capabilities translate directly into operational efficiency. Nightly data syncs reduce manual entry. Real-time updates help the department adjust to early dismissals, weather disruptions and last-minute modifications. Administrators can access consistent, reliable information without placing additional strain on dispatch. Yet Sisson was quick to emphasize that technology adoption is as much about people as it is about software. When launching upgrades or new features, he starts by assessing his team’s strengths and areas for growth. Clear timelines and achievable goals are paired with training modules and demos from Transfinder experts. Just as importantly, he encouraged networking with fellow transportation leaders across New York State. “You don’t know what you don’t know until someone tells you,” he said, noting that neighboring districts may be using the same platform in innovative ways. Managing stakeholder buy-in, from drivers and dispatchers to principals and parents, requires thoughtful communication. Sisson avoids framing initiatives as “change,” which can trigger resistance. Instead, he focuses on “improving the process.” By listening carefully to concerns and meeting colleagues halfway, he builds baseline confidence in the tools the district deploys. Ultimately, the most significant impact of Transfinder at Indian River is on safety. “Knowledge is power and communication is key,” Sisson said. By providing consistent route timelines, estimated pickup and drop-off windows, and clear notifications when adjustments occur, the platform creates what he describes as a “safety net” for both new and veteran drivers. Parents and guardians know when to expect the bus and can be alerted if plans shift. Whether navigating snow-covered roads, coordinating midday runs or responding to specialized transportation needs, the department relies on accurate data and open communication channels. The result is a system where drivers can focus on the road, administrators can answer questions confidently and families can trust the process. For Sisson, technology is simply a tool that supports a larger purpose. At the end of each week, if every child arrives safely and returns home without incident, the mission has been accomplished. Everything else, he said, is a teachable moment. To learn more about Transfinder’s solutions and expert support, call 800-373-3609, visit transfinder.com/solutions or email solutions@transfinder.com.