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.NAPT MEMBER NEWS
Join us on Wednesday 12.2.20 for Trends in K-12 School (Re)Openings: Now, Early 2021 and Beyond
NAPT
K-12 school learning plans (virtual, hybrid, traditional in-person) are in major flux due to a resurgence of the coronavirus.
Join us for a 15 minute overview of the post-Thanksgiving landscape, followed by a live Q & A session regarding state lockdown strategies, local mitigation strategies, and preferred learning plans that vary by region as well as a discussion of the issues facing K-12 education for the remainder of this year and into 2021.
Event and Speaker Information:
- Trends in K-12 School (Re)Openings: Now, Early 2021 and Beyond
- Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2020
- Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- To submit a question in advance please email the NAPT Headquarters.
Our Speaker: Dennis Roche is President of Burbio, a data service that tracks school opening by learning types (in person, virtual, etc) across the US. Burbio's school opening data has been cited by Bloomberg, CNBC, Politico, NPR, USA Today, and more, and the firm works with companies who use their data to better plan their operations.
Burbio actively monitors 1,200 districts, including the 200 largest school districts in the US. District plans are reviewed every 72 hours to identify changes. School districts in the data set are a mix of sizes and distributed nationally in such a way to represent local decision-making across the country and averages are weighted to reflect student populations.
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Join us on Tuesday 12.15.20 for NAPT® ACTS Informational Webinar
NAPT
2021 is almost here which means we will be launching NAPT® ACTS! very soon.
NAPT® has joined forces with the Center for Effective School Operations (CESO) to create NAPT® ACTS!, a brand new streaming service, offered on the RethinkEDU platform, that offers curated content both live and on-demand, combined with social networking for the K-12 marketspace.
NAPT® ACTS! is about connecting people, regularly and consistently, using education as the common ground.
Join us as we talk about NAPT® ACTS! and the RethinkEDU platform.
We are excited to share what we have created and hope that you are you too!
Event Information
- NAPT® ACTS! Informational Webinar
- Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2020
- Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Speakers: Mike Martin, NAPT Executive Director and Luke Frederick, CESO Director of Innovation
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The Safety Vision IR Thermometer is used to measure passengers’ temperature quickly and easily as they board the bus or enter the building. Scanning any part of the face or hand, temperature readings are displayed on the LED screen, in addition to an audible voice that states if the person’s temperature is within range.
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Federal Communications Commission Votes to Reallocate 5.9 GHz "Safety Spectrum"
NAPT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously on November 18th to split up the 5.9 GHz communication frequency previously reserved for use in transportation.
According to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, there is "a pressing need for us to allocate additional spectrum” for Wi-Fi, noting the coronavirus pandemic underscored the fact that "consumers need access and more bandwidth to be able to engage in telework, remote learning, telehealth, and other broadband-related services."
The FCC commissioners therefore reallocated the lower 45 megahertz of the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) spectrum between 5.850-5.925 GHz for unlicensed use and the upper 30 megahertz for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) that must use C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) technology.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has been an outspoken critic of reallocating the spectrum. A year ago, she submitted a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asking him to keep the 5.9 GHz safety spectrum reserved for possible lifesaving transportation benefits.
"Due to the significant potential vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies have to reduce these societal crises, it is imperative to the Department that the full 75 MHz of the 5.9 GHz Band is preserved for its existing purposes, including transportation safety and other intelligent transportation purposes”, said Chao. She has warned the FCC decision could result in "thousands more deaths annually on road and millions more injuries than would be the case otherwise."
The entire band was reserved in 1999 for the development of "connected vehicles" that would communicate with each other and with infrastructure. Several years ago, however, cable, telecom and content companies asked the FCC to open most of the spectrum band for Wi-Fi use.
Despite the fact that the change passed with bipartisan support (all three Republican members of the commission voted in favor, and the two Democrats concurred), it is possible that the decision could be overturned, particularly because Pai's controversial tenure as chairman of the FCC is likely coming to an end. Traditionally, the party in control of the Presidency controls 3 of the 5 FCC seats, including the chairman. If that follows form, the FCC majority reverts to Democratic control next January, in which case, Pai is likely to lose his top spot at the FCC and may even leave the agency altogether.
On the other hand, the FCC's new rules enable full-power indoor unlicensed operations in the unlicensed portion of the band to begin immediately, as well as "opportunities for outdoor unlicensed use on a coordinated basis under certain circumstances." Meanwhile, transportation users in the band must vacate the lower 45 megahertz within a year.
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Keep Your NAPT® Member Profile Up-to-Date
NAPT
Now is a great time to log in to the NAPT® website and update your member profile!
Once you're logged in:
- View and update your personal information — it's quick and simple. As soon as you log in, you'll see all of your information and have the ability to make edits as necessary.
- Upload a professional photo to display in your profile that will be visible in the Online Member Directory.
- Provide a brief professional biography in the space provided so we can learn a little more about you.
- Select your Directory Category by clicking on "My Directory Options" and selecting the appropriate organization type.
Log in today! Please contact headquarters at 800.989.6278 if you need assistance logging in to the system.
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Attention School Transportation Product Suppliers: Are you a member of NAPT?
NAPT
Annual memberships for our NAPT Business Partners expire on December 31, 2020. Be on the lookout for an email from us that explains new services and expanded options for our business affiliate members in the 2021 membership year.
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Connect with NAPT
NAPT
Let NAPT help you stay in touch with colleagues and up-to-date on industry news and interesting stories from around the nation.
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Does your district have students without Internet at home? Equip your buses with WiFi and park them in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, mobile home parks, and school parking lots to create Internet access point amid distance learning. Get started by downloading the Community WiFi Hotspot Guide.
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Wash a School Bus in less than 5 minutes! Using only 5 gallons of water and 1 ounce of soap per minute, walk around the bus applying soap and the second time using fresh water, all automated. We are the world’s most economical, ecological and efficient bus wash system!
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.INDUSTRY NEWS
How the US plans to turn all its iconic school buses electric
ElectricHybridVehicleTechnology.com
The U.S. school bus is a cultural icon. With its distinctive yellow livery, this design classic has inhabited the roads of North America in various forms since 1939, and the region is unique in having a fleet of dedicated buses for transporting school students. Most other areas use ordinary public-service buses for the school runs. On average 480,000 yellow buses carry upwards of 25 million children to school on a daily basis in the U.S. With only 1% of these buses currently running on electrified powertrains, that means a lot of gas-guzzling diesel engines polluting the air.
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Rahm Emanuel floated for transportation secretary
Axios
President-elect Biden is strongly considering Rahm Emanuel to run the Department of Transportation, weighing the former Chicago mayor's experience on infrastructure spending against concerns from progressives over his policing record.
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In these reopened schools, students exceed expectations following safety rules
EdSurge
Milford High School, in Massachusetts, developed detailed return-to-school plans and safety procedures in preparation for this school year. School administrators proactively communicated to students and families about what returning to classrooms would look like. But even the best laid plans can go awry if students flouted rules and protocols.
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Study guide: Attendance and chronic absenteeism during COVID-19
Education DIVE
Among educators' greatest challenges with the pandemic-driven transition to remote learning is tracking attendance and participation. Doing so can be challenging in a virtual environment, particularly if learning is taking place asynchronously. Attendance and chronic absenteeism rates are crucial accountability metrics that are once again being tracked following some initial lenience in the spring. And with some forms of online learning likely to remain in a post-coronavirus world, the way attendance is tracked could be primed for significant change.
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Across the US, fewer students are being identified as homeless. Educators say that's actually a bad sign.
Chalkbeat
Across the country, school staff are reporting a "shocking drop" in the number of students who are identified as homeless and are therefore entitled to critical support from their school. Advocates worry that means many children are going without access to things like food, health care referrals, and laundry services. They also worry that could indicate many students aren’t enrolled in school at all right now.
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Cut off: School closings leave rural students isolated
The Associated Press
The midday arrival of a school bus at Cyliss Castillo's home on the remote edge of a mesa breaks up the long days of boredom and isolation for the high school senior. The driver hands over food in white plastic bags, collects Castillo's school assignments and offers some welcome conversation before setting out for another home. The closing of classrooms and the switch to remote learning because of the coronavirus have left Castillo and other students in this school district on the sparsely populated fringe of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico profoundly isolated — cut off from direct human contact and, in many cases, unconnected to the grid.
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Decisions to stop or start in-person K-12 learning aren't getting easier
Education DIVE
In recent weeks, as novel coronavirus caseloads across the country have surged, school systems are making difficult decisions to stop or limit in-person learning options in an effort to reduce the virus' spread. In some areas, those transitions are coming just weeks after districts phased in on-campus learning.
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These are the interview questions candidates hate the most
Fast Company
If you're ever in a position to be interviewed by Elon Musk for a job at Tesla or SpaceX, chances are he'll ask you this: "You're standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?"
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How to keep your team energized during the holidays
Entrepreneur
This year, the holidays are different from any other that we have had in the past. Many families have been quarantined together all year long, struggling to balance the lines between work and home. Being on calls, virtual meetings and attending online conferences, while feeding small children and pets is exhausting. Work feels like it is never-ending, and many are struggling with burn out. We all are due for a much-needed time off — to properly be strengthened as individuals, and as a team.
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COVID-19 budget woes pose challenge for Ohio's long-awaited school funding overhaul
The 74
Ohio legislators hope to end a two-decade fight over the constitutionality of school funding this fall with a much-anticipated new formula for state aid that would give schools an estimated $2 billion more annually when fully implemented. But the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is adding an extra challenge to an already-difficult fix, raising the possibility that Ohio may not have enough money to pay for it.
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How to actually encourage employee accountability
Harvard Business Review
Fewer words in corporate vernacular induce a tighter wince than "accountability," and for good reason. Companies and leaders have grappled with what it is and how to achieve it effectively for decades. Ask anyone if they look forward to their performance evaluation or periodic check-in with their boss, and most will give an emphatic "no."
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22 qualities that make a great leader
Entrepreneur (commentary)
"It's been said that leadership is making important but unpopular decisions. That's certainly a partial truth, but I think it underscores the importance of focus. To be a good leader, you cannot major in minor things, and you must be less distracted than your competition. To get the few critical things done, you must develop incredible selective ignorance. Otherwise, the trivial will drown you."
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3 tips to communicate authentically in times of crisis
Entrepreneur
Times of crisis naturally lead to stress, and in the workplace, a surefire way to heighten that stress is lackluster communication. Don't get me wrong — my company struggles with this, too. In May, our leadership team decided that we wouldn't return to in-person work yet, even though our state had lifted its stay-at-home order. But we didn't communicate that to the team right away.
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MULTIBRIEFS EXCLUSIVE
In times of crisis: 5 strategies that lead to better decisions
By Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao
 The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our work, how we relate with our families, and our personal sense of safety, security and health. This crisis, coupled with recent burgeoning social unrest, presents unique challenges to leaders. How can we make better decisions — ones that could make or break our business — when we're consumed by what's around us? One answer comes from leaders in the profession that's at the very center of the COVID crisis: expert medical practitioners, who frequently make life-or-death decisions for the people in front of them. How do they stay focused and keep their decision-making sharp?
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Disagreement doesn't have to be divisive
Harvard Business Review
A well-functioning organization, like a well-functioning society, requires employees and leaders alike to have productive conversations, even in the face of different views and opinions — in fact, especially in the face of such differences.
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Why you shouldn't always look on the bright side
Fast Company
Optimism is a valued trait in the American workplace. Optimism accounts for 30% of an employee's inspiration at work, according to a survey by Leadership IQ. Optimists may deal with workplace stress better. And they may even be healthier.
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