Transportation

Full Fleet Electrification: How Steelton-Highspire’s Success Paves the Way for K-12 Districts

Date & Time: Tuesday, November 19 at 2 p.m. ET

In this Ed Talk, Superintendent Dr. Mick Iskric will discuss his district's journey to embrace electric buses to reduce long-term costs. He will be joined by Kevin King, Head of Electrification at First Student, who will explain how a flexible, rapid-deployment charging infrastructure helped Steelton-Highspire make electrification feasible and cost-effective, providing a blueprint for other districts facing similar challenges.

The Safety Cycle: Ensuring the Safety of Students from A to B and Back Again

Date & Time: Monday, October 21 at 2 p.m. ET

In this webinar, gain a fresh perspective on how to ensure the safety of your students while they're in transit beyond the safety features that have been installed on their buses. Learn proactive approaches and immediate steps to react quickly and effectively when the unexpected happens.

Reimagining transportation: 3 ways to conquer chronic absenteeism

While potential solutions to the absenteeism crisis are varying and complex, perhaps the most basic is optimizing the way we get kids to and from school.

TGIF time-saver: More buses are going green; team teaching endorsed

New this week: Uvalde families of victims agreed on a $2 million settlement with the city, districts are getting major bus upgrades and team-based teaching might be the solution to shortages.

Bus staffing and routing problems leave districts scrambling for solutions

North Carolina's Durham Public Schools was closed on Monday due to a lack of available drivers. Another district is potentially cutting routes dramatically to compensate for staff shortages.

Safe trips: Why more schools are hiring transportation monitors

Their role goes beyond simply being an extra pair of eyes—they can be instrumental in creating a controlled, safe, and peaceful environment for the nation’s most vulnerable students.

See which districts will share $1 billion in new clean school bus funding

Thousands of new clean, green and electric buses will soon be carrying kids to school thanks to a $1 billion boost in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

What K12 leaders can do to recruit the new generation of bus drivers

The good news for most school districts is that real progress can be made in hiring Generation Z and Millennials drivers with various employment options while retaining valuable, experienced transportation employees.

Why it’s time to ‘electrify’ school bus transportation

"The school bus industry is changing," says one expert. "We are going to go through the largest transformation the industry has ever seen in its 100-plus years of existence. And that's because electric is here, and it's not going away."

How 3 districts are handling a ‘transportation crisis’ in their first weeks of school

Marty Pollio, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky, said he had to make the most difficult decision of his career: cancel the second and third days of school to solve issues involving their bus routes.

What will it take for schools to have a full fleet of bus drivers again?

In some districts, the bus driver shortage is "worse than ever," but why? From retirements to a lack of funding, administrators are in over their heads looking for a solution to this crisis.

Be boring: How to avoid the chaos caused by bus driver shortages

Boring equates to everything running on time and being fully resourced with no major disruptions. But staffing issues and other constraints frequently create conditions that are the total opposite.

These states are leading the electric school bus movement

Zero emissions transportation is a slow, yet growing movement in K12 school districts. Here are four ways to help your district cut costs while transitioning to ESBs.

Improving student transportation: 3 takeaways from the new school year

Alternative vehicles allow districts to support student success by providing a way to achieve better attendance.

‘Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus?’ Soon, they’ll be electric

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that nearly $1 billion will go toward cleaner and safer vehicles, with the goal of "not only saving our children but, for them, the planet."

It’s exhausting: Add burgling bus parts to the issues facing K-12 districts

More than 27 converters were stolen from one district's school buses, disrupting operations for two straight days.

4 reasons these are the hardest school positions to staff right now

Special education teachers and transportation staff accounted for the most concerning school staff shortages, a survey finds.

Apparently, $35 an hour isn’t enough to retain bus drivers

Several districts report having extreme difficulty in maintaining a full bus driver roster on the first week of school.

5 reasons district leaders should expand transportation options

Alternative transportation can help to better support underserved populations, such as students with special needs or those who are homeless.

3 ways districts can successfully address bus driver shortages and rising fuel prices

Faced with shockingly high gas prices and bus driver shortages, school districts across the U.S. are making efforts to maintain steady and efficient bus operations.

$500 million worth of help coming for cleaner schools and buses

Building Better School Infrastructure grants will support energy- and cost-saving redesigns and help districts transition to electric school buses.

7 new ways to stem a rash of new school attendance problems

Transportation challenges, student health, school climate, mobility and poverty—long the leading causes of chronic absenteeism—also became much more severe during the pandemic.

One way to ease the substitute teacher shortage with staff you already have

The lightbulb went on when the wife of a Fayette County Public Schools bus driver was overheard saying her husband had long aspired to become a substitute teacher.

All K-12 schools plan to spend emergency relief funds on this item in 2022

But there are significant differences among rural, urban and suburban districts on use of ESSER funds.

How artificial intelligence is poised to change the future of education

AI's prevalence is all around, but it is up to educators to embrace it and use intuitive technologies to fuel all students.

Five to drive: How one big state is recruiting more school bus drivers

New York state is now reaching out to 550,000 commercial driver's license holders in efforts to recruit them as school bus drivers while DMV speeds up the testing process.

How districts are coping as COVID worsens school bus driver shortage

Administrators have been forced to delay school and recruit parents to transport students as a shortage bus drivers spreads along with the latest COVID surge.

Know the signs: Sandy Hook leaders issue warnings as K-12 schools reopen

Mental health, violence are top concerns as students return.

Duke report: Masks may be key to reopening K-12s safely in fall

Masking was effective in North Carolina in preventing COVID-19 spread both in classes and on buses.

Can ESSER funds be used for travel for PD?

Official answers from Education Department staff to questions posed by Title I educators and administrators.

5 ways COVID is shaking up school transportation

More than 80% of superintendents and transportation directors say COVID will exacerbate bus driver shortages, a survey by a school-focused rideshare company found.

2 Texas teachers develop app to tame school dismissal

The iDismiss tool was designed to make the process more orderly, safe and inexpensive after a student was hit by a car.

4 inclusive school bus transportation strategies

As a related service that must be included in a student's IEP if required to benefit from special education, transportation to and from school may require more thought than expected, particularly during COVID.

Nevada has achieved internet, devices for all students

Through a huge public-private coalition, the state has managed to completely close gaps in five months.

Florida district becomes trendsetter for in-person learning

Martin County, one of the first in the state to open for face-to-face instruction, has provided safe, strong educational environments for students at schools through the pandemic.