He wanted to greet each driver, thank them for what they are doing, and then also make certain that the students had a good experience getting on the bus right, even if it meant giving up his umbrella. And so that’s just an example of how he cares about people. That’s how you can work in a system this large but not lose sight of talking about people.
- Charoscar Coleman, COO of PGCPS
[drivers’] primary tool,” Baldwin said, adding that it’s hard to get drivers to buy into technology. With the new tablets, he said bus drivers will be able to train without needing to be in or near the bus, allowing trainers to better walk through instructions step by step. PGCPS also has stop-arm cameras, which were imple-
mented when Baldwin first joined the district in 2019. Currently, he said, the enforcement program run by Bus Patrol tracks 5,000 to 7,000 illegal passing violations per month, but fortunately there have been no related inju- ries or fatalities. While the data tells the district the program is working,
it also says that illegal passing is still an issue that needs work. He said his to-do list includes a shared communi- cation plan with the school system and the county law enforcement to work out the hot-spot infraction areas, such as four-lane traffic roads, where communication on the stopping laws is not widely known. “I may have to get [Bus Patrol] to help bridge that gap
between us and law enforcement, since that’s what they already do, and create a better communication strategy,” he said. Justin Meyers, president and chief innovation offi-
cer at BusPatrol, added, “Keba said it best. This program bridges the gap between school districts and law en- forcement, bringing the community together behind one goal: Protecting kids. “Since partnering with Prince George’s County Public Schools in 2021, we’ve seen real progress,” he continued. “When the program launched, violations were as high as 9,000 per month. Today, they’re down to fewer than 6,000, a reduction of more than 30 percent, meaning safer roads for students across the county.”
68 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2025
Leading With Collaboration Baldwin said he evaluates each request or complaint
he receives from school board members or administra- tors. Can he delegate it to a supervisor? (PGCPS has six supervisors that each manage two bus terminals.) Or does it require a strategy meeting? He leadership style approach centers on collaboration,
“What would you do?” “What do you recommend?” He said when you create buy-in with your team and they feel empowered to give solutions and they’re more motivated to resolve it. “I try to support that and just offer suggestions and dif-
ferent perspectives to let them find a solution,” he said, adding that it’s not creating new solutions, but reinvent- ing the ones that already exist. “I have an open-door policy.” Baldwin also conducts weekly meetings with the vari- ous teams and the supervisors to address any questions and concerns, and to discuss plans for the week ahead. Coleman said Baldwin can see the big picture but still
connect with individuals on a deeper level. “He cares about kids, but he also cares about his staff,” he said. “I see it regularly, but I saw it again [recently], when we visited a bus stop. It started raining while we were there, and director Baldwin greeted each of the bus drivers … “That’s the level of care that he demonstrates consis-
tently,” Coleman continued. “He wanted to greet each driver, thank them for what they are doing, and then also make certain that the students had a good experience getting on the bus right, even if it meant giving up his umbrella. And so that’s just an example of how he cares about people. That’s how you can work in a system this large but not lose sight of talking about people.” ●
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