It’s a big year for the School Transportation Association of Indiana (STAI). Not only did 2025 mark its 50th anniversary, but the conference grew this year, attracting almost 300 member attendees and just over 100 suppliers. Held June 22-24, 2025, at the Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, student transportation teams convened to learn best practices and new trends for school busing in the state. Check out these photo highlights from the show, where SBF was on the scene!
Highlights from STAI’s 50th Anniversary Conference & Trade Show [PHOTOS]
There’s time for fun at STAI, too. On Tuesday morning, attendees could choose between educational sessions, a euchre tournament to win prizes, or hit the green for a golf outing.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Molly McGee Hewitt, executive director and CEO of the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), presented the opening day’s keynote address, “The E-Factor.” Speaking about the power of employee recognition and encouragement, she covered ways to enhance leadership, build teams, and think differently about ourselves, our staff, our jobs, and our industry. One tip she shared to recognize your team members is to conduct stay interviews.
STAI is one of NAPT’s affiliates, meaning its members can receive extra representation, resources, and training. At STAI’s conference, several sessions were available for credit.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Representatives from Q’Straint and BESI were on site to help attendees with special needs equipment questions and training.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Several Indiana dealerships had new school bus models on the trade show floor for attendees to check out and tabletops conducive to conversations with each other amid games and giveaways.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Boris Kagan and Dell Hart, both transportation security inspectors for Homeland Security in the state of Indiana, discussed best practices for threat detection and reporting and implementing cybersecurity measures. They also promoted TSA’s First Observer Plus security awareness training and other risk mitigation exercises they can conduct for free at teams’ in-services or special sessions.
“We have to get it right 100% of the time; the bad guys only have to get it right once,” Kagan said. The good news: To disrupt a terrorist, we only have to disrupt one stage of their process to potentially prevent tragedy.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Association leaders were glad to share that this year’s conference attracted a large crowd. Between member attendees and suppliers, about 400 individuals were able to network, learn from each other and state experts, participate in special events and outings, and enjoy Fort Wayne together.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Closing out day 2 of the conference was a special outing for STAI attendees to get some sun and have some fun together at a Fort Wayne TinCaps baseball game.
Photo: Brand Lift
Phil Chatlosh of ProHeat by Dometic showed off the company’s bus heating systems, including its Dometic Variable E-Series for large electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as its M-Series diesel-fired heater. These can be run and even scheduled without the bus being on, so it can warm up without unnecessary engine idling.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
In “Transportation 101” Indiana’s state director Mike LaRocco covered an introduction to the basics of student transportation law, regulation, and procedure, including ELDT processes, pre-K and special needs passengers, stop-arm loading requirements, and evacuations, each federally and on the state level.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
In a round robin discussion, drivers got to break into small groups and move to different stations to dig deeper into emergency preparedness, bus upkeep, and special needs evacuations. Here, BESI’s sales manager Aaron Harris works with Noblesville Schools’ special needs coordinator Trish Byrd to walk attendees through considerations when getting riders with special needs off the bus quickly and safely.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Renee Dawson, training specialist for the Indiana Department of Education, and Ryan Williams of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, present a session on student management and de-escalation techniques. Together, they covered the learning and behavior cycle and offered a worksheet on assessing and planning your own approach. “We’re losing drivers because we’re not giving them the tools and skills to work with kids,” she said, noting that our training cannot stop at teaching new drivers simply how to operate a bus. A lot of drivers will rely on their administrators to build relationships, but they should be taught to nurture their own with district staff, students, and their families.
Williams offered another tip for directors: Get on the bus for a few routes to help your drivers remind students of bus rules and expectations, work with those kids who need extra help, and recognize them for (hopeful) improvement after a few days. “When you win over your problem kids, they can be your helpers,” he said. And, encourage drivers to use their mics to call out good behavior and not just to point out who did something wrong.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
“You don’t have time not to do proper routing,” Teena Mitchell, special needs coordinator for Greenville County Schools in South Carolina, told attendees during a session on GPS and routing tips.
Mitchell encouraged folks to re-evaluate their routes each year, and especially as student populations shift. To test new features like parent communication, you can pilot test with a small area before a full tech deployment. She also mentioned the importance of looking at the street view or getting your eyes on the road as some map views may not fully represent challenges for a school bus, such as tight corners, which can present safety concerns. Another tip: If you integrate cameras on your buses, have a behavioral specialist watch the route live to spot missed triggers along the route for riders with behavioral concerns.
Mitchell presented due to STAI being an affiliate member.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Transfinder’s new account executive Courtney Upell was on site representing the routing and technology company during the conference’s trade show among many other vendors and suppliers.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Dr. Terry Tippin, retired transportation director and STAI executive director, stands with Zach McKinney, director of transportation for Hamilton Southeastern Schools and STAI president.
Photo: Amanda Huggett