Barry Sudduth, elected director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s Region 2 as of October, recently became the 14th person to complete the Special Needs Transportation (SNT) training program.
Sudduth completed NAPT’s SNT courses at the Virginia Association for Pupil Transportation state conference and at the past two NAPT Summit annual conferences.
He is currently the assistant transportation director at Stafford County (Va.) Schools, located southwest of the Washington, D.C., metro area. He ran unopposed for the NAPT board position during the 2011 NAPT Summit in Cincinnati. He was elected by association members to serve a two-year term. During the annual conference, Sudduth said he had one more NAPT Professional Development Series (PDS) course to complete to obtain his SNT endorsement.
Established last year, the SNT program requires NAPT members to complete six courses on transporting students with special needs, including a class on how to develop and produce a school bus roadeo event as well as a trade show project. Student transporters may also supplement the learning by taking two elective courses listed in the NAPT PDS.
Sudduth, who is also a member of the Virginia Association for Pupil Transportation, joined the industry in 2001 after spending 12 years as a band director and teacher. This past fall, he told School Transportation News that he had long been fascinated by the yellow school bus, which drove his transition to student transportation as a supervisor. He has a master’s degree in public administration and is an NAPT-certified director of pupil transportaiton, a child safety restraint technician and an automobile inspector certified by the Virginia State Police.
