Rhonda Fiddler, a bus driver and special needs trainer at Cherokee County School District in Georgia, won the inaugural TSD Video Contest and receives an all-expenses-paid trip to the TSD Conference in Frisco, Texas this month.
Fiddler is also a part or the defending champion National Special Needs Team Safety Roadeo. She and Susan Nulph took the crown last year in Nashville. Fiddler and Nulph finished second in 2013 when the roadeo was last in Frisco and they previously finished third in Orlando, Florida, the year prior.
However the team will not compete this year, prompting Fiddler to make her case via a video message. She says she’s looking forward to attending the actual TSD conference and not just the roadeo.
“Each year as a roadeo candidate we learned something each time, and that’s what’s so beneficial about the TSD conference,” she states in her video. “I know there is valuable training taught there that I can bring back to the school district and to our community.”
Eight of the 10 years Fiddler has driven for Cherokee County have been on special needs routes. For the past four years she’s also served as a special needs driver trainer.
Meet Another Georgia Transporter Headed to the 2015 TSD Conference For Free
She says the education at TSD will supplement the ongoing training Cherokee County provides its bus drivers and attendants. The district teaches all new hires as well as veterans on how to use specialized equipment to enhance student mobility and occupant protection. Fidler added that their training must be fluid to address student needs that can change on a daily basis.
For example, she references the new voluntary WC18 standard that goes in effect in December. It addresses tie-down equipment that meets added weight load requirements for WC19-compliant wheelchairs.
“Not only do we want to make sure we’re training everybody to the best of our ability when they come in (as new employees) but we want to continue their education in developing classes for all the different policies and standards that change,” she added.
Cherokee County School District is located 35 miles north of Atlanta in Canton, Georgia. As Fiddler describes in her video submission, the district operates about 400 school buses, 54 of which transport special needs students. The district also employs 108 special needs bus drivers and attendants and two special needs transportation specialists.
