“It’s how you look at your organizational successes. We don’t have the luxury of time during our day-to-day operations. Listen to the stories and processes, and part of that success is identifying areas that don’t work so well,” said Deschaine, who is an assistant professor at the Department of Educational Leadership at Central Michigan University. Robinson, who is past president of
NAPT and executive director of the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Pupil Transportation, noted that one must be self-motivated first in order to motivate others, which can be difficult and tiring, but gets easier if professing a strong message. She said to motivate “through what we do daily, such as experience, compassion, your decision-making ability, initiative, etc. Using your 20,000-foot view to your advantage,” as a leader, regardless of one’s title. Benish, who is COO of bus company
Cook-Illinois Corp., spoke about mentoring and offered three steps to positively enhanc- ing school bus management: Changing be- havior, maintaining consistency in behavior and writing simple and clear policies and procedures. In the March 3 general session, “Practi-
transporters because a lot more details can be involved when it comes to operational practices and service delivery. Ten there are the pressing questions parents, and the media, can pose that can add another layer of challenges when it comes to effectively communicating — or even communicating at all — a solution to an issue.
GENERAL SESSIONS LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
Tat’s why the conference’s first general
session held March 2 discussed “Stepping Up: Leadership, Motivation, Mentoring and Management,” with presenters John Benish, Mark Deschaine, Kala Heinkensiefken, Alex Robinson and Elaine Shea. Tey all stressed that no matter what one’s title might be, student transporters must elevate the discourse of their job in order to be more effective in their position and to foster a good, solid relationship with parents.
tioners Meet the HR Guru,” Pete Meslin, a member of the TSD national board of advisers and director of transportation at Newport-Mesa Unified in Southern California, warned attendees that doc- umentation is the difference between a bad meeting and a disastrous one. He was joined by Craig Ott, executive director of human capital operations at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, in providing the acting through scenarios in which student transporters might easily find themselves. Meslin said it’s important for transporta-
tion supervisors to “be completely honest” when meeting with HR and to avoid being defensive. Instead, be a part of the solution. Tis requires a long look into the mirror. “Talk about strengths and weaknesses, not just the employee’s but your own,” he added. “Discipline has to be progressive. Leadership in the department needs to be accountable in holding supervisors respon- sible, as well.” Tis is never as true as when it comes to sexual harassment claims, said Ott. He said supervisors must know what’s going on in the departments at all times, and they can gauge this by simply walking around and regularly interacting with employees. He also advised that supervisors treat everyone fairly and consistently.
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