Revved and Ready to Excel!

Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers

18th National Conference & Exhibition

February 27 - March 4, 2009

Registration Opens

(Registration is open daily thereafter at 7 am)

Friday's sessions are open to Roadeo contestants free of charge compliments of the sponsoring companies, Edupro Group, Q'Straint, Tie Tech and Sure-Lok.

Evacuation Training (in classroom)        11 am to 12:15 pm

Jean Zimmerman, PT, Supervisor of Occupational and Physical Therapy, Palm Beach County, Florida

Q'Straint Securement Training

in tandem with                                           12:30 to 2:45 pm

Jean's Evacuation Training (on bus)                  

Tie Tech Wheelchair Tie Down System Demonstration                                           2:15 to 3:15 pm

Sure-Lok Securement Training

& Certification                                           3:15 to 5:30 pm

A Certificate of Completion will be offered at the end of the training.

(concurrent)

Breakout A

Basics of Special Needs Transportation       8 am to Noon

Pauline M. Gervais, Executive Director of Transportation,

Denver Public Schools; and Cheryl Wolf, Safety & Training Supervisor, Lafayette IN School Corp.

Head Start Ride Time Requirements:

How to Crack the Code & Balance the Act         1 to 2 pm

Head Start’s one-hour ride time limit is difficult in rural and large areas.  And there is a balancing act between the social service part of providing transportation – with parents who are unprepared for the responsibilities of putting a young child on the bus – and the need to stay on schedule during the route. Here are ideas that may help.

Janice Graniero, EC Transportation Coordinator, Onslow County NC Schools

Session to be announced                          2:15 to 4:15 pm

Breakout B

So, What’s Your Point? Communicating                     

Effectively & Efficiently                                      8 to 9 am

This presentation considers various methods of communication (spoken, written, 2-way radio, emailing) and offers ways to help cut to the chase and get to the point, in a professional manner.  Effective techniques that work, whether communicating with each other or with students, parents or teachers.

Charlene Majors, Training Specialist, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Suwanee GA

The Blossoming of Technology in Transportation                                                                    9:15 to 10:15 am

Computerized routing, pre- and post trip, GPS, it’s all there.  What are the advantages and, yes, disadvantages of the techno revolution in the school bus industry.  This routing specialist tells it like it is.

Zoe Horak, Route Coordinator, Falcon School District 49

Sensitivity Training                          10:30 am to 12:30 pm

(classroom and on bus)                              

Limit: 30 attendees per session; repeated 2:15 to 4:15 pm.

This in-class and on-bus exercise is just what you need to get in touch with some of the obstacles and challenges for drivers and students.

Theresa M. Anderson, Central Director of Transportation, Jefferson County (CO) School District,

and Michelle Spradlin, Special Needs Coordinator, Douglas County (CO) Schools                                             

Behavior Management: Helping

Drivers Avoid the Conflict Spiral                        1 to 2 pm

Ruth LaJoie, Transportation Supervisor, Red Clay Transportation, Newcastle, DE

Sensitivity Training                                   2:15 to 4:15 pm

(classroom and on bus) Repeated from 10:30 am; see above.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION PROGRAM

Workshop A

CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS &                                        INTERVENTIONS THAT WORK ON THE BUS

Segment A: Saturday

Working with Students Whose Behavior is  

Complicated by Severe, Profound Disabilities

8 am to 11 am

This session covers students who are non-verbal, non-ambulatory, deaf/blind, self-abusive, etc.

Jo Mascorro, M.Ed., Consultant for Education, San Antonio

Interventions for Diffusing Bullying

Behaviors on the Bus                       11:15 am to 12:45 pm

William Hoosty, President, WRH Consulting Group

Segment B on Sunday, March 1, 1 to 5 pm, covers behavior interventions for students with autism. See Sunday schedule.

ROADEO COMPETITION        view details
Observers, contestants and judges will be offered shuttle service to and from the roadeo site throughout the day. For more information on Roadeo teams and judging contact Maureen Arnitz at maureen arnitz@gananda.org

ROADEO AWARDS BANQUET

6 to 9 pm

Sponsored by Thomas Built Buses

Continental Breakfast for session attendees, 8:45 to 9 am
Welcome: Craig Leonard, Thomas Built Buses
Co-Facilitators: Charlene Majors, Training Specialist, Gwinnett County Public Schools, and Faye M. Stevens , Executive Director, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute
Attendees interact to find answers to scenarios that depict some of the more challenging aspects of transporting children with disabilities and preschoolers.

Panelists (to be named) will comment on solutions offered.

This session is open to all Roadeo contestants free of charge.  Full conference registrants are welcome to attend.

OT/PT/TRANSPORTER CHAT ROOM

Facilitator: Jean Zimmerman, PT, Supervisor of

Occupational & Physical Therapy, Palm Beach County SD

YOUR STATE SPECIAL NEEDS ROADEO:

Getting Your Start, Then Going to the National

Maureen Arnitz, National Roadeo Coordinator,  and Alex Robinson, Co-Chair, NAPT Special Needs Committee

SEPARATE REGISTRATION PROGRAM  

Workshop B

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY RESTRAINT

SYSTEMS: NHTSA'S NATIONAL TRAINING

Workshop Co-Chairs: Kathy Strotmeyer, Cheryl Wolf

Additional Team Leaders: Sue Shutrump, Jean Zimmerman, Charley Kennington, and a NHTSA rep.

This definitive hands on and instructional clinic enables you to learn from the best in the nation: Experts from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, school system Child Passenger Safety Technicians and industry representatives. 

Registrants earn a Certificate of Attendance..

SEPARATE REGISTRATION PROGRAM

Workshop C

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING: Way Beyond the Basics

Segment A:                                                 8 am to Noon

Transportation’s Challenges in Transition Services

Chair & Introduction to the session:                   8 to 8:15 am

Pauline Gervais, Executive Director of Transportation, Denver Public Schools

Building a Bridge between Education

& Transportation                                       8:15 to 9:15 am 

Understanding the law, identifying the population, and describing how the education components and transportation components need to come together.  Resources you may tap into while bilding bridges to implement post-secondary transition services.

Joe Timmons, Research Fellow, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota and contributor to the National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth

Travel Training -- Practical Considerations for Transporters                                            9:30 to 10:30 am

Here's a look at various practical aspects of an effective travel training program from the transporter's prospective.

Kathleen Furneaux, Executive Director, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute

On the Ground with Transition Services: A Panel Discussion with Session Attendees        10:30 am to Noon

What's working and what's not; perplexing cases; problem-solving together.  What about transition services for students who are homeless?  Your opportunity for an issues and answers session with session presenters and your colleagues.

Pauline Gervais, Kathy Furneaux and Joe Timmons

Lunch

Segment B:                                                        1 to 5 pm

Essentials of Top Notch HR Practices

Human resources practices span a host of issues.  But, you've asked -- "What do I really need to do?  Just give me the essentials."  This four-hour session addresses your request.                  

Mark Hinson, SPHR, Asst. Superintendent, Human Resources, Adams 12 Five Star Schools                  

Wheelchair & Occupant Securement:

The ABC’s of Safe Transport

This session is a basic level session for those new to transportation, or those who wish a review of best practices of wheelchair & occupant securement and wheelchair lift protocol with and without an attendant.

Sue Shutrump, OTR/L, Trumbull County, OH ESC

Keeping Communication Lines Open with Terminal

Managers, Dispatchers & Call Center Staff

Are your terminal managers, dispatchers and call center staff on board, with the information they need, to make informed decisions about transporting children with special needs? Panelists discuss the training and understanding individuals in these key positions need to possess to make knowledgeable decisions from start to finish of a safe ride.

Linda F. Bluth, Maryland Dept. of Education; Theresa Anderson, Central Director of Transportation, Jefferson County (CO) School District; Zoe Horak, Route Coordinator, Falcon School District 49; and a panelist to be announced.

Preschoolers & the Bus Ride: Training Drivers

about Unique Needs & Communication Issues

Preschool students have a set of needs and issues unique to their young age: fear of being away from family and familiar facts, tantrums, bathroom issues, understanding bus rules, etc.

Janice Graniero, EC Transportation Cordinator, Onslow County NC Schols, and Kathy Furneaux, Executive Director, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute

Welcoming remarks: Pete Baxter, Director, School Traffic Safety Division, Indiana Dept. of Education, and Roseann Schwaderer, Edupro Group, Conference Chair

It’s About the Child: Developmental Stages & Disabling  

Conditions as Key Factors in Safe Transportation  

for Our Youngest & Most Vulnerable Passengers

So, What’s Your Point?: Communicating Effectively & Efficiently

This presentation considers various methods of communication (spoken, written, 2-way radio, emailing) and offers ways to help cut to the chase and get to the point, in a professional manner.  Effective techniques that work, whether communicating with each other or with students, parents or teachers.

Charlene Majors, Training Specialist, Gwinnett County GA Public Schools

Revitalizing Your Special Needs Training Program

Karen Knight, Safety & Training Manager, Adams 12 Five Star Schools (with a brief legal framework by Peggy Burns, Esq., Education Compliance Group, and Editor, Legal Routes)

Car Seats, Belts & Buses:     

The 10 Most Common Mistakes

Are you properly securing children in car seats and safety vests on the bus? Be forewarned of the mistakes you may be making.

Kathy Strotmeyer, Regional Coordinator, American Academy of Pediatrics

Breakout A: OPERATIONS

Topic to be announced.                                                      12:45 to 1:45 pm

Options for Equipping the Special Needs School Bus                    2 to 3 pm

A Panel Discussion with Bus Manufacturers 

Facilitator: Cheryl Wolf, Safety & Training Supervisor, Lafayette IN School Corp.

Panelists: Representatives from bus manufacturing firms to be named.

Developing an Effective Communication Plan                      3:15 to 4:15 pm

for Working with a Transportation Contractor

Tina Halliman, Ph.D., Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Cook County IL School District 130, and a panelist to be named.

Breakout B: OT/PT/TRANSPORTER FORUM                               1 to 4:30 pm

Co-Chairs:

Susan Englert Shutrump, OTR/L, Supervisor of Occupational and Physical Therapy, Trumbull County (OH) ESC and Charley Kennington, Director, Transportation Services, Region 4 ESC, Houston

The Forum is an annual segment of the conference that focus on transit wheelchairs and liability issues related to accommodations required for safe transportation of children with disabilities.                                         

Update on WC19 & Related Mobility Device Issues             12:45 to 1:45 pm

Larry Schneider, PhD., Research Professor, and Miriam Manary, BSE, Senior Engineering Research Associate, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

Preparing Transportation Plan Solutions                                       2 to 3 pm

for Your Most Perplexing Cases                                                               

Back by popular demand, this interactive session offers practical advice and potential solutions for tough and involved cases and to situations you bring up for the panel’s comment.

Forum Co-chairs Sue Shutrump and Charley Kennington will be joined by Jean Zimmerman, PT, Miriam Manary, and Larry Schneider

Building an Effective Individual Transportation Plan:           3:15 to 4:30 pm

A Live, Interactive Case Study

Child, parent/caregiver, district staff, Forum panelists, and session attendees work through the process to build an effective ITP. As the team works together, equipment will be examined and the student, parent and staff will be interviewed to identify strengths and needs which will then be incorporated into a customized transportation plan. You will have the opportunity to actively participate, or to observe, and compare the plan to one your district would offer.

Breakout C: GRADUATE SCHOOL ROUNDTABLES                     1 to 4:30 pm

Stepping Up: Roundtable Dialogues on Leadership,

Influence, Communication, Motivation & Management

Five roundtables of 10 seats each will be available.  Each table will have a maximum of three discussion leaders, one of whom will be the Table Captain. Each roundtable session will last 30 minutes, at which time participants will have the option of moving to another table or staying for another 30 minutes.  No one will be permitted to spend more than two 30-minute periods at the same table. The table topics are as follows:

Effective Leadership – A Dialogue with Former State Directors of Transportation

Discussion leaders to be named.

Winning Support from Your State Director – A Dialogue with

Current State Directors of Transportation

Charley Hood, Florida, Table Captain

Pete Baxter, Indiana

Discussion Leader to be named.

Managing Your Time & Motivating Staff – A Dialogue with

School Transportation Practitioners

Pauline Gervais, Denver Public Schools, Table Captain

Alex Robinson, San Diego USD

Discussion leader to be named.

Communicating Effectively & Influencing Policy – A Dialogue with Association Executives

Robin Leeds, National School Transportation Assn.

Discussion leaders to be named.

Achieving Safe & Compliant Pupil Transportation – A Dialogue with Industry Officials  

Kathy Furneaux, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute, Table Captain

Peggy Burns, Esq., Education Compliance Group, and Editor, Legal Routes

Cynthia Langill, Utica National Insurance

Stepping Up Roundtable Dialogue Wrap-up                             4 to 4:30 pm

Participants will have the opportunity to answer the question: “How can I step up in my operation as a result of the afternoon’s roundtables?”

SPECIAL EVENT

Revved and Ready to Excel...

Now:

TAKE A LAP AROUND IMMI –                                                   5:30 to 10 pm

COMPLIMENTS OF SAFEGUARD/IMMI                     buses load 5:30 to 6 pm

DINNER, TOUR AND TEST AT IMMI’S

STATE OF THE ART TESTING FACILITY

Monday’s sessions will be capped by a memorable and enjoyable evening, compliments of IMMI/SafeGuard. Dinner and entertainment will be followed by a tour of the SafeGuard/IMMI facility and a special demonstration test.  Buses will load at 5:30 to 6 pm and return to the Hyatt Hotel by 10 pm.

GENERAL SESSION                                                                7 to 8 15 am

Back by Popular Demand: The “Ellen’s Experts Tell All” Show     

(with NO apologies to Ellen DeGeneres)

Pauline (De)Gervais, Linda Bluth, Peggy Burns, Kathy Furneaux, Sue Shutrump, and Jean Zimmerman

A highly interactive and fast-moving session in which select members of the Tenured Faculty and National Advisory Board answer some of the most frequent and pertinent questions they are asked in the areas of special needs transportation, including students with disabilities, preschoolers and Head Start populations.  Upon conclusion of this entertaining and informative session, all adjourn to the Exhibit Hall for the Exhibition.

Breaout A: OPERATIONS

How Sensory Deficits Impact the Bus Rider &                       1:15 to 2:15 pm

Interventions for Safe Securement, Boarding & Behavior

Learn how to structure the bus environment to accommodate students with sensitivities to touch and movement and those who have difficulty filtering auditory or visual information, thereby making communication difficult. Learn to recognize the effect of sensory deficits on establishing rapport, prompting proper bus behavior, the fit of CSRS's, teaching safe boarding and evacuation procedures and avoiding acting out or disruptive behavior. Helpful strategies used in the classroom and therapy will be discussed with an emphasis on how to ransfer them into the bus ride.

Sue Shutrump, OTR/L, Supervisor of Occupational & Physical Therapy, Trunbull County (OH) ESC

Topic to be Announced                                                         2:30 to 3:30 pm

Peggy Burns and Linda Bluth

More than One Way Out; Specing the Bus                                3:45 to 5 pm

for Emergency Evacuations of All Students

Do you have your emergency evacuation plan for students with special needs in hand when you’re specing a bus?  Maybe that wheelchair doesn’t fit through a 24-inch emergency exit.  Maybe you shouldn’t assume that the lift be working; is there another way to get students out of the bus?  It’s time to be proactive about writing bus specifications that consider riders with disabilities.

Jean Zimmerman, PT, Supervisor, Occupational & Physical Therapy, Palm Beach County SD

Breakout B: LAW & POLICY

Federal Program Update: Head Start,                                  1:15 to 2:15 pm

Lap/shoulder Belts, etc.

Here’s what’s down the pike for special needs transporters, compliments of the feds.

Robin Leeds, Consultant and Industry Specialist, National School Transportation Assn

It Doesn’t Stop with Getting Student Info;                            2:30 to 3:30 pm 

You’ve Got to Know What to Do with It                                             

Obtaining data on a student’s behavioral, medical and equipment needs is just the first step. We’ll tell you how to get the data.  Of equal importance is how to use the information once you have it.  Propensity to run?  Prone to seizures?  Needs a lap tray?  Here are things to do, and questions to ask, to help insure a safe ride.

Pete Meslin and Kathy Strotmeyer, American Academy of Pediatrics  

Equip Yourself against Legal Concerns: Recent                        3:45 to 5 pm

Cases about Stuff & Staff that Goes with the Child

Peggy Burns, ESQ., Education Compliance Group

Sped Transportation As a

Risky Business?  You Decide                                                1:15 to 2:15 pm

Cynthia Langill, Utica National, NE region

Parent Issues & Transportation: Empowering                       2:30 to 3:30 pm

IEP Teams to Make Appropriate Decisions

Determining whether transportation is a related service, having tough discussions with parents. Regarding bus aides and other issues. What supervisors are to do when dealing with unreasonable and over-demanding parents.

Tina Halliman, Ph.D., Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Cook County IL School District 130, and a presenter to be named.

Session to be announced                                                          3:45 to 5 pm

ABCs of Preparing Transportation Staff                                        7 to 8 am

to Work with Difficult Parents

Debbie Rike, Supervisor, Transportation Department, Shelby County TN Schools

Some parents are difficult to communicate/ interact with. They are difficult with everyone – from the school staff, therapists, transportation staff, etc.  It’s one thing to talk with parents over the phone, but when a parent is unreasonable the driver or bus assistant may be confronted in front of students on the bus.  How do you prepare the driver and assistant to respond to the parents?  What training do you complete with the transportation personnel to establish working rapport with these parents.  Learn the ABCs in this session:

• Top 10 things you would never say to a student, parent or school personnel!  (No matter what)

• How have you trained staff to respond or break off confrontational conversations with difficult parents?

• Difficult situations (examples) – How would your respond?

Don’t Be a Crash Test Dummy                                              8:15 to 9:30 am

Share the challenges and solutions for safe transportation of students who travel on the school bus while seated in their wheelchairs.  You’ll participate in an interactive session – share, critique, win prizes, laugh, and leave with vivid memories of crash test videos.

Jean Zimmerman, PT, West Palm Beach SD, and Sue Johnson, Convaid

Tall Tales or True; Fact or Fiction &

How to Respond if It Happens to You                                  9:45 to 10:45 am

Incidents gathered from news reports or passed from one ear to another; your personal experiences; someone’s worst fears – all provide an educational “closer” with a light touch.  Savor these stories to retell in your training sessions, or around the campfire.

Pete Meslin, and Debbie Rike