~Please note our new location is The DESMOND HOTEL - 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY~

Winter Workshop 2026

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Pre-Conference Workshops

7:30 AM – Registration – Fort Orange Courtyard

8:00 – 12:00 Noon - Town Hall

NYS DMV Certified Examiner 19-A Refresher

John Spacht – NYAPT President-Elect

Transportation Director at Southwestern Schools, Jamestown City Schools, and Frewsburg Schools

1:00 – 5:00 PM - Town Hall

NAPT PDS Course #604-Prioritizing & Evaluating Operational Safety

This four-hour course explains and explores “safety” in essential areas of your operations, such as staffing, routing and scheduling, student management and training, vehicle maintenance and customer service.

8:00 – 5:00 PM - High Street Ballroom

NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses Training

Conducted and sponsored by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee

Instructors: Kecia Healy - Lead Instructor - Traffic Safety Educator, Orange County and Course Assistants: Louisa Boehlert Vaughan, Jacky Sheehy & Shannan Napolitano

4:00 – 6:00 PM- Exhibitor Set Up- Fort Orange Courtyard

Thursday, February 19, 2026

7:00 – 5:00 PM – Registration

7:00 – 8:00 AM- Exhibitor Set Up – Fort Orange Courtyard

8:00 – 8:30 - Coffee and Connect with Industry Partners – Fort Orange Courtyard

8:30 - Opening Session & Welcome –King Street Ballroom - Marc Medina – NYAPT President

9:00 – 10:30 Keynote Address – King Street Ballroom: Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh from “Sweethearts and Heroes” will deliver an impactful message that inspires and offers hope in these uncertain times.

10:30 – 11:00 Break – Visit our Industry Partners - Fort Orange Courtyard

11:00 – 12:00 New York State Department of Transportation Update - King Street Ballroom - Marc Berger, Director, Passenger Safety Bureau - Sponsored by Leonard Bus Sales, Inc. 

12:00 Lunch – King Street Ballroom - Sponsored by BusRight

1:00 – 2:00 Breakout Session

Shared Services Panel Discussion – Fort Orange 5 - John Spacht, Kristin Sercu, Mike Sweeney & Marc Medina

Moderator – Nicole Dolce

The panel of experienced Transportation Directors involved in shared services will discuss their experiences managing shared-service operations and offer candid advice if you are considering a shared transportation arrangement.

SED School Transportation Requirement and Documentation - High Street Ballroom

Maria Caroccia - PTSI & NYSED Master Instructor

Frank Klein - Director of Safety Training and Operations, STS, Inc. & NYSED Master Instructor

This session recaps and updates the Summer Conference 2025 presentation, with a focus on SED

requirements and compliance documentation for newcomers to the industry.

McKinney Vento - Fort Orange 9

Jamie Reinke - Transportation Director, Freeport School District

Ted Nugent - Transportation Director, Coxsackie-Athens Central School District

Attend this session to learn about McKinney Vento from an operations standpoint.

Breaking the Conflict Cycle – Town Hall - David Richardson – Executive Director of Student Operations - Greece Central School District

Breaking the conflict cycle requires intention and the development of the skills to do so.  Attend this session to learn from a school transportation leader who has trained his staff, leading to positive outcomes.

Building a Better Bus Driver – Fort Orange - Dan Proctor - Driver Trainer – Genesee Valley BOCES

Attend this session to learn how a transportation leader improves bus driver performance through better leadership—a great workshop for new transportation leaders.

2:00 – 3:00 – Break – Visit our Industry Partners - Fort Orange Courtyard

3:00 – 4:00 Breakout Sessions – Repeat of 1:00 Sessions.

4:00 – 5:00 – Leadership Development and Certification program informational meeting- Town Hall

6:00 – 10:00 Scholarship Event/Dinner – King Street Ballroom

Friday, February 20, 2026

7:00 AM – Registration – Fort Orange Courtyard

7:30 AM Breakfast – King Street Ballroom - Sponsored by Transfinder

8:30 – 9:00 Truckers Against Trafficking – King Street Ballroom - Nicole Consiglio – Safe Harbor Coordinator- Albany County

9:00-10:00 Break – Visit our Industry Partners - Fort Orange Courtyard

10:00 – 11:00 – Susan Shutrump – King Street Ballroom - SPED Update

Susan is a national speaker on special education transportation. She will provide an overview of SPED transportation regulations and current trends affecting school transportation services.

11:00 – 12:00 – SED/NYSERDA Roundtable - King Street Ballroom

David Elliott – NYSED, Coordinator Education Aid Services

NYSERDA – Speaker TBD

12:00 PM Closing Remarks & Send Off - King Street Ballroom Marc Medina – NYAPT President

Thank you To Our Sponsors!

Rochester Area Transportation Supervisor Association

Nassau NYAPT

Lower Hudson NYAPT

Wayne Fingerlakes NYAPT

Leonard Bus Sales, Inc.

Transfinder

BusRight