The South Willamette Chapter of the Oregon Pupil Transportation Association set a record for the number of school bus drivers it has trained during the Winter Workshop last weekend.
According to the Oregon Department of Education, the 860 attendees at the Feb. 20 training represented 25 percent of all licensed school bus drivers in the state, workshop chair Chris Ellison told STN. The transportation manager at Eugene School District 4J is also a former OPTA president and South Willamette Chapter president.
All attendees received six hours of state educational credit towards their school bus certification, Ellison added.
The day’s agenda at Springfield High School included several sessions on what to do in the event of an emergency, including What to Expect from Police in an Emergency, as presented by Sgt. Carl Stubbs, supervisor of Eugene School District resource officers and a member of the Eugene Police Department. Kathy Houck, director of transportation for the Reynolds School District, also detailed lessons learned from the June 10, 2014, Reynolds High School shooting and implications for transportation responders during her session Responding to an Emergency.
The seminar also featured Smoke-Filled Bus/Accident Scene Walk-Through and On-Road Driver Responses to Emergencies.
“We truly hope that no one is put in these circumstances, but if they are, maybe they will pause to think about the consequences and how these decisions (from the videos) could impact many more individuals than just themselves,” said Ellison.
The training was rounded out with the sessions Making the Right Decisions: The Effects of Insomnia, Alcohol and Drugs; Seat Belt Cutting 101/Under the Influence Goggles; Taking Responsibility; and Unsung Heroes – Your Decisions Make a Difference.
