ICYMI: National School Transportation Association Presents 2025 Award Winners
NAPT Announces 2025 Award Winners
The association for public and private student transportation services will honor outstanding members for their service, continuing education, training and safety, special-needs, and heroism.

All individuals will be honored in person at the association's conference in Michigan soon.
Photo: School Bus Fleet
Today, the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT)announced the winners of the 2025 NAPT Annual Awards Program, recognizing exceptional achievements in student transportation.
The 2025 honorees exemplify safety, leadership, innovation, and dedication in ensuring that more than 26 million children travel to and from school securely each day.
2025 Winners
Distinguished Service Award: Stephanie Walker, CDPT, CSPT, CSNT, CPTS, Director of Transportation for Habersham County Schools (Georgia)
Distinguished Service Award: Denny Coughlin, Owner at School Bus Training Company
Continuing Education Award: Michelle Summers, CSPT, Assistant Director of Transportation at Friendswood ISD (Texas). The Continuing Education Award is sponsored by Thomas Built Buses.
School Bus Driver Training & Safety Award: Sherri Zulick,Training Coordinator at Maine School Administrative District 06. The School Bus Driver Training & Safety Award is sponsored by IC Bus.
Special Needs Transportation Award: Katherine Michael, CSPT, CPTS, Special Needs Route Supervisor at Fayette County Schools (Georgia). The Special Needs Transportation Award is sponsored by Q'Straint.
Heroism Award: Spartanburg District 6 staff, bus driver Crystal Foster and bus monitor Joclyn Johnson for their heroic actions in saving children from a house fire. The Heroism Award is sponsored by Blue Bird.
Hall of Fame Inductee
In addition, NAPT announced that Alexandra Robinson will be the sole inductee into the NAPT Hall of Fame for 2025. "Her visionary leadership, decades of service, and unwavering commitment to safe, equitable student transportation have transformed our industry and inspired professionals nationwide," the association wrote on social media.
All award winners will be honored at NAPT's ACTS conference, Oct. 31-Nov. 4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 3:45 p.m.
More Management

5 Questions: How CharterUP Brought a Marketplace to Student Transportation
What does it take to bring a transportation marketplace into K-12? Hear firsthand what CharterUP has learned about the unique needs of schools and bus operators.
Read More →
EverDriven Expands TripCentral Transportation Management Platform to All Partner Districts
The platform provides school districts with real-time trip tracking, student transportation scheduling tools, and pickup and drop-off management capabilities.
Read More →
6 School Transportation Trends to Watch: 2026 District Survey Results
School bus buying is up, fuel choices are shifting, and driver shortages persist. This and more in the latest K-12 public school survey, plus the largest fleets in the U.S.
Read More →
The 100 Largest School Bus Fleets in America: 2026 Rankings
Which public K-12 school districts are the largest in the nation in terms of bus fleet size? Here are the new standings of the top 100 district fleets.
Read More →
EverDriven Launches Route Consolidation Calculator to Estimate Diesel Savings
As diesel prices hit record highs, the largest alternative transportation provider says a 10% route consolidation could save a 120-route district more than $78,000 a year in fuel alone.
Read More →
Zum Secures Continued Financing Support for School Bus Expansion
Generate Private Credit has financed approximately $75 million in school bus deployments across three states, supporting more than 500 buses as Zum expands across the county.
Read More →
Beyond Discipline: A Different Approach to Student Behavior on the Bus
After implementing a dean of students program in Oregon, North Clackamas is seeing positive improvements. Here’s how it worked. The Route is brought to you by IC Bus.
Read More →A Dean of Transportation's Different Approach to Student Behavior on the School Bus
After implementing a dean of students program in Oregon, North Clackamas is seeing positive improvements on the bus. Here’s how it worked.
Read More →
Inside NAPT ACTS 2026: Highlights from Louisville
From federal updates and student behavior strategies to new school bus technology and industry awards, see highlights from NAPT ACTS 2026 in Louisville.
Read More →
Meet the 2026 School Bus Driver Hero Winner: Annette Brown
We caught up with Wa-Nee Community Schools' Annette Brown on site at SBFX, where she was named the 2026 School Bus Driver Hero Award winner. Hear about her reaction, what she loves most about being a school bus driver, and more!
Read More →
