Busing on the Lookout (BOTL) Empowers School Bus Drivers to Help Combat Trafficking

I’m fortunate to be able to travel and attend school bus events, trade shows, and activities across the country. When I come across a program that really makes a difference, I do what I can to get that message out. This is a message that everyone in the transportation industry should receive.

There are inherently hard topics to talk about or even acknowledge. Human trafficking is one of those topics. Until the 2018 NAPT and NASDPTS Conferences, human trafficking was something I’ve only seen in movies. The reality is that trafficking happens every day and in every corner of the United States (and the World).

According to PolarisProject.org, since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received reports of 34,700 sex trafficking cases inside the United States.
Globally, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.8 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally.

Annie Sovcik, the Program Director for Busing on the Lookout (BOTL), presented to State Directors at the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation (NASDPTS) Conference AND again to delegates at the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) Conference. She also took to the Trade Show floor with DVDs and program materials to relay the message to as many willing ears as possible. The pupil transportation industry, from district to state levels, is already embracing this training.

Busing on the Lookout (BOTL) is a logical expansion of the extremely successful Truckers Against Trafficking training geared toward truck drivers. The program for commercial and school bus drivers broadens the network of observing and reporting individuals that law enforcement organizations rely on to recover victims and make arrests.

From the BOTL website: When building an army to fight a crime like human trafficking, the bus industry has a key role to fill. Through their sheer numbers, extensive travels, and the nature of their jobs, members of the bus industry—commercial and school—are uniquely positioned to provide an extra set of eyes and ears for law enforcement in recovering victims and arresting traffickers.

This is a free training program and certification that should be completed by, frankly, everyone – especially if you frequently travel, are involved in the transportation industry, or are around children. In order to complete the BOTL certification program, you must register, watch the video, and take a short quiz. My personal experience is that it’s a painless registration process to access the material and well worth the effort considering the training empowers YOU to take steps that could end up saving a life.

Take action and complete the training.
Tell your Safety and Training Coordinator about BOTL training and certification.
Help make a difference in the fight against human trafficking.

Take the Training

Learn More About BOTL

TL;DR: Take the free Busing on The Lookout (BOTL) training to learn how to recognize and report human trafficking. Free Training.

Posted in Blog, Online Training, Pupil Transportation on November 26th, 2018. No Comments.

School Training Solutions Adds Five More Florida Counties to Its Online Training Community

School Bus Drivers Now Receiving State-Mandated Training Online as Additional Transportation Departments Adopt School Training Solutions’ Curriculum

PENSACOLA, Fla., March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — School Training Solutions (STS) is expanding its online school bus driver training in Florida. Volusia, Monroe, Okeechobee, Charlotte, and Pinellas are the newest transportation departments to adopt School Training Solutions’ online curriculum. These counties join Wakulla, Holmes, Walton, Clay, Marion, DeSoto, Manatee, and Hendry, as well as counties in Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wyoming, and West Virginia as part of the STS online training community.

Greg Akins, Director of Transportation for Volusia County School District, has been impressed with the change. “It is a time saver and very cost-effective for us. Instead of tying up staff for several days of training, we have applicants take the online course, and then we supplement it with about a day and a half of our district specific policies and procedures,” he states. Akins also finds the online administrator access to reports and training records very beneficial: “It allows staff to keep track of each applicant’s progress and to offer coaching as needed.” Akin adds, “School Training Solutions’ staff is absolutely phenomenal with their support and immediate attention to our questions and needs.”

Patrick Willi, Director of School Training Solutions, remarks, “We are excited about the expansion of counties in Florida, as word is spreading about our online training. We remain committed to providing quality education to meet the in-service needs of school districts across the U.S.”

More and more counties are taking advantage of online training to satisfy state-mandated yearly in-service requirements for school bus drivers and support personnel. The benefits of online training are numerous when compared to traditional classroom training. The flexibility of online training allows participants to complete the training at their own pace and in their own time-frame. Documentation and reports are readily available, thus reducing the amount of paperwork and making it easier to track progress. Students receive instant feedback, and the presentation of information is consistent. Online training is also significantly less expensive than classroom instruction.

About School Training Solutions

School Training Solutions (STS), a division of Smart Horizons, is a comprehensive offering of online training organized to meet both state mandated in service training requirements and the professional development training needs of all school district employees. The STS catalog contains driver training for bus drivers and others operating school district vehicles, campus security, food services training, and professional development training for administrative, support, and teaching personnel. To learn more about School Training Solutions, please visit http://www.schooltrainingsolutions.com/.

Posted in Online Training, Press Releases, Pupil Transportation on March 28th, 2014. No Comments.

School Training Solutions Donates “Carmen Loves the Bus” Books to Local 5K Run and Walk

Books will be distributed at the Forever Family 5K Run and Walk sponsored by the FamiliesFirst Network of Lakeview (FFN) in honor of National Adoption month.
PENSACOLA, Fla., November 1 — Any child who rides a school bus can benefit from more safety education concerning the big yellow bus. In an effort to spread this message of safety, School Training Solutions, a leading provider in driver training for school bus drivers, is donating “Carmen Loves the Bus” books to every participant in the upcoming Footprints to a Forever Family 5K Run and Walk. These books are geared toward young children who are beginning to experience school bus transportation.
The “Carmen Loves the Bus” book was created by the American School Bus Council as a way to educate young children about school bus safety. “We received permission from American School Bus Council to reprint these wonderful books, and I look for new ways to get them into the hands of children and parents,” says Patrick Willi. The Footprints to a Forever Family 5K Run and Walk event is an ideal match for handing out the books because of its focus on children and families. November is National Adoption month and a time to celebrate the families created through adoption. The Footprints to a Forever Family 5K Run and Walk proceeds raised will go to share the message of the need for more adoptive families to help waiting children find a forever home. The 5K run and walk takes place Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. About FamiliesFirst Network FamiliesFirst Network of Lakeview (FFN) represents a partnership with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to provide an array of foster care and related services in coordination with network partners. The network includes DCF, Lakeview Center, as the lead agency, judiciary sub-contracted service providers, foster parents, the District One Community Alliance, agency stakeholders, and the community working together to implement the legislative mandate for community based care. Services include case management for out-of-home and in-home placements; foster home recruitment, training, recommendation for licensure, and support; adoption support; independent living program; dependency court resource facilitation; sub-contract management; and other related services to abused and neglected children and their families. About School Training Solutions School Training Solutions (STS), a division of Smart Horizons, is a comprehensive offering of online training organized to meet both state mandated in service training requirements and the professional development training needs of all school district employees. The STS catalog contains driver training for bus drivers and others operating school district vehicles, campus security, food services training, and professional development training for administrative, support, and teaching personnel. To learn more about School Training Solutions, please visit http://www.schooltrainingsolutions.com/.

Posted in Press Releases on November 1st, 2013. Comments Off.

STS and Oklahoma Association of Pupil Transportation Release Recertification Curriculum

Oklahoma School Bus Drivers Can Now Meet Recertification Requirement Through Online Training

Oklahoma’s Department of Education has recently instituted a new recertification requirement for school bus drivers. In August, School Training Solutions (STS) released online curriculum to help school bus drivers meet this requirement. Drivers whose certification has expired for more than a year may purchase and take these online courses through the Oklahoma Association of Pupil Transportation (OAPT) to satisfy their recertification requirement.

Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation

“The online courses have made it much easier to meet the needs of drivers who need to recertify because they have neglected to get the needed in-service and state certification,” stated Kim Hamilton, Executive Director of OAPT. “Before, I was trying to find an available night class to enroll them in. Now I can enroll them in the course and they can start class the next day. You also have the issue of having enough participants for the face-to-face classes, usually around 15 people.” Hamilton has found that the online courses have helped alleviate those issues, as drivers can take the courses online at their convenience, so the number of participants is irrelevant.”

“We are in the computer age and more and more drivers are no longer afraid to take online courses. A lot of districts will call and are not sure if their elderly drivers will like it. In the end, they love the online courses and even ask what else they can do online. Drivers don’t have to be apprehensive. This is a very encouraging and user-friendly product,” Hamilton stated.

The Director of School Training Solutions, Patrick Willi remarked, “We value our partnership with OAPT and are happy to fulfill the in-service needs of Oklahoma school bus transportation departments. We are also excited to offer similar training to other school districts across the U.S.”

With the addition of these new recertification courses, School Training Solutions, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Association of Pupil Transportation now offers three different online options to Oklahoma school bus drivers. Drivers may take courses for certification, in-service, or recertification all at their own pace and in their own time-frame, as courses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

About OAPT
The Oklahoma Association for Pupil Transportation (OAPT) is a benchmark driven organization with a participative professional membership. OAPT facilitates quality education by disseminating knowledge and providing assistance to those responsible for safe pupil transportation. OAPT is known for quality conferences, innovative training, and influencing legislative initiatives for transportation safety.

Posted in Blog, Press Releases on October 28th, 2013. Comments Off.

Independence School District Joins the School Training Solutions Online Training Community

School Bus Drivers Now Receiving Training Online in MO, OK, FL, IA, WY, and WV

PENSACOLA, Fla., Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ —School Training Solutions (STS) welcomes Independence School District, Independence Missouri, to its online training community. Independence joins other districts across the U.S. that are already taking advantage of this online training to satisfy yearly in-service requirements for school bus drivers. School Training Solutions partnered with transportation and safety supervisors in Independence to create a custom in-service catalog for its district that drivers began using on August 1, 2013. Read More…

Posted in Online Training, Press Releases on September 24th, 2013. 1 Comment.

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