New York State War Council Office of War Training School Bus Drivers' Training Program Administration and Certification Files
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Overview of the Records
Repository:
New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Summary:
To help conserve resources for the war effort, the War Council required all school bus drivers to be certified in the safe
and efficient operation of buses. The Education Department was assigned to this task, while the Office of War Training administered
the program. This series contains correspondence, memoranda, lists, manuscript drafts, and certification exams documenting
the School Bus Drivers' Training Program, as well as correspondence from the War Production Training Office addressing requests
for pamphlets, manuals, and information.
Creator:
Title:
School bus drivers' training program administration and certification files
Quantity:
Inclusive Dates:
1943-1945
Series Number:
A4373
Arrangement
Organized into two subseries: Subseries 1, Administration Files, 1943-1945, 2.3 cubic feet; and Subseries 2, Examinations
and Certification File, 1943-1944, 3.7 cubic feet.
Subseries 1, Administration Files: arranged by topic.
Subseries 2, Examinations and Certification File: arranged by topic, then alphabetical by school location.
Administrative History
World War II caused numerous shortages and affected many aspects of daily life. School buses, while an efficient means of
transportation, required a great amount of resources, particularly fuel and rubber. Because better school bus driving techniques
would help to conserve resources for the war effort, the War Council required all school bus drivers to be certified in the
safe and efficient operation of buses. The War Council assigned the Education Department to this task, and it in turn requested
that the Office of War Training administer the program.
The program trained and assigned instructors in over 100 schools throughout the state and issued certificates to those who
passed the course. The War Production Training Office, a subdivision of the War Transportation Office, assumed responsibility
for the distribution of publications (though it did not carry out any other program activities) after the Office of War Training
closed in 1944.
Scope and Content Note
This series contains correspondence, memoranda, lists, manuscript drafts, and certification exams documenting the School Bus
Drivers' Training Program. Requests for pamphlets, manuals, and information were directed to the War Production Training Office,
and correspondence from that office is also found within this series. This series is organized into two subseries described
below.
Subseries 1, Administration Files, 1943-1945, 2.3 cubic feet: This subseries contains correspondence, memoranda, lists, and
manuscript drafts documenting the management of the School Bus Drivers' Training Program. Materials found include: drafts
of the instructor's manual; correspondence from field representatives regarding program organization; correspondence to new
instructors regarding duties and expectations; lists of: the number of buses available by county, certified bus drivers, including
their home town and instructor, trainees who were not certified (includes name, town, and reason for not certifying), and
instructors, including their address, occupation, and often a signed receipt for teaching materials; brochures from school
bus driver training programs in New York as well as other states; newspaper clippings documenting program activities; monthly
reports from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles enumerating motor vehicle accidents involving property and personal injury; correspondence
with other organizations interested in motor vehicle safety, such as the National Safety Council, the American Association
of Automobiles, the New York State Motor Bus Association, and the New York Automobile Club; and routine correspondence between
program officers and instructors discussing training manual and instructional film distribution, prospective training locations,
reimbursements, and program activities.
Subseries 2, Examinations and Certification File, 1943-1944, 3.7 cubic feet: This subseries contains copies of examinations
taken by students in the School Bus Drivers' Training Program and lists of those who took the training course, kept to record
which drivers were certified to drive. The sixty-question exam posed questions on traffic regulations, a bus's mechanical
operation, passenger safety and behavior, and efficient driving habits. The lists contain the names of course attendants,
their address, and their final certification status. Some correspondence between program officers and local training program
administrators dicussing issues regarding individuals' status is also found in this subseries, in addition to a set of 8"
x 5" cards listing information relative to each training program.
Processing Information
This series was originally accessioned as boxes 166-171 of old collection #77, accession -71.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.
Access Terms
Corporate Name(s):
Geographic Name(s):
Subject(s):
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Detailed Description
| Contents |
Box |
Folder |
Accretion: A4373-78 |
| School Bus Drivers Program Organization |
1 |
1 |
| Original setup on School Bus Drivers program |
1 |
2 |
| Material-School bus program-office |
1 |
3 |
| Correspondence School Bus Drivers' training schools opening Fall 1994 |
1 |
4 |
| Reference Material School Bus Drivers |
1 |
5 |
| N.Y. Automobile Club - correspondence School Bus Drivers |
1 |
6 |
| School Bus Drivers Monthly Enrollment Report |
1 |
7 |
| Correspondence School Bus Drivers |
1 |
8 |
| School Bus Drivers handbook materials |
1 |
9 |
| Training school bus drivers - general considerations relating to the training of drivers and the operation of driver training |
1 |
10 |
| Bus Driver certified |
1 |
12 |
| Certificates - School Bus Drivers correspondence |
1 |
13 |
| News items - releases etc. School Bus Drivers |
1 |
14 |
| Drawings for closed area tests |
1 |
15 |
| School bus driver program brochures |
1 |
16 |
| Coach operators manual - unit I |
1 |
17 |
| School Bus Drivers Instructor's Manual |
1 |
18 |
| Correspondence - Manual - School Bus Drivers |
1 |
19 |
| N.Y.S. War Council Order No. 14 |
1 |
20 |
| Available school buses |
2 |
1 |
| School bus School - Tentative locations |
2 |
2 |
| Trainees who have not been certified |
2 |
3 |
| Centers to be opened in the Fall - no certified instructor |
2 |
5 |
| Instructor training manual |
2 |
6 |
| Prospective locations for school bus driver centers |
2 |
7 |
| Notices sent out by instructors |
2 |
8 |
| Field representatives - correspondence |
2 |
9 |
| N.Y.S. grange resolution |
2 |
10 |
| Tests for driving skill-school bus driver manual |
2 |
11 |
| Miscellaneous correspondence - inactive instructors |
2 |
12 |
| Instructors School Bus Drivers program |
2 |
14 |
| Instructors - Syracuse |
2 |
15 |
| Instructors - Buffalo |
2 |
16 |
| Instructors - Rochester |
2 |
17 |
| Instructors - Garden City |
2 |
18 |
| Instructors - Albany |
2 |
19 |
| Potential instructors fleet |
2 |
20 |
| Memos W.D. Weitz from H.O. Carlton |
2 |
22 |
| Office of War Training |
2 |
23 |
| Memos, Mr. Fink from Mr. Weitz |
2 |
25 |
| Dispatcher training material |
2 |
29 |
| Automotive conservation |
2 |
30 |
| Instructors School Bus Drivers |
2 |
31 |
| Film - Six Steps to Safety |
2 |
32 |
| Truck driving training |
2 |
33 |
| Automotive conservation training |
2 |
34 |
| War Transportation Committee - Correspondence |
2 |
36 |
| U.S. Office of Education |
2 |
37 |
| School bus driver community and training center |
2 |
38 |
| National Safety Council - correspondence |
2 |
39 |
| A.A.A. and Amos E. Neyhart correspondence |
2 |
41 |
| Office of Defense Transportation correspondence |
2 |
42 |
| N.Y.S. Motor Bus Association |
2 |
43 |
| Bureau of Motor Vehicles monthly reports |
2 |
44 |
| Instructors - Albany - correspondence |
2 |
45 |
| School Bus Drivers - Centers - final |
2 |
47 |
| Instructors - School Bus Drivers Training Program |
2 |
49 |
