ANNE PRENOVOST Director of Transportation Morris-Union Jointure Commission, N.J.
Anne Prenovost, like most, didn’t plan to make a career in student transportation. She was a waitress at a diner in Union, New Jersey, when a regular customer told her about a sales and dispatch job opening at a local motorcoach
company. After four years working for
the motorcoach operator, Prenovost began working in school transportation, later becoming the director of transportation for Morris-Union Jointure Commission, a position she has held for over three years. Prenovost said that her duties can vary from day-to-
day, as she fills in wherever needed, in addition to her regular duties. The district primarily transports students with special needs, so she stays in communication with parents and directors of special services to ensure that transportation goes smoothly.
“[I am] grateful to have an excellent team of drivers, aides, office staff and mechanics that make my job much easier,” she said. “We are one big family, with potluck lunch celebrations year-round to celebrate ourselves and the great job that we do.” She added that her favorite part of the job is seeing
how her hard work has turned the department into what it is today. “It is extremely rewarding to sit back and look how far the department has come in these past few years,” Prenovost said. She added: “My goals are to continue to run a first-rate
department, acquire more drivers and aides to take on more routes for our districts, and continue to educate and update staff through varied forms of training.” She concluded by adding that she is only as successful as the people she works with. “Everyone employed [in] transportation really pours their heart into their work and you see and feel the commitment,” Prenovost said.
ANDREA MANCINO Transportation Dispatcher San Marcos Unified School District, Calif.
Andrea Mancino was hired as a bus aide for San Marcos Unified School District in 2001 and became a school bus driver 10 years later. “I enjoyed driving and building relationships with the students I drove,” she said. “I made a difference in their lives and they made a difference
in mine. I love everything about being a school bus driver.” Mancino credited her experience and passion to
receiving the opportunity to become a state certified driving instructor in 2018. She added that as she loves teaching other transportation professionals and seeing them become dedicated drivers. When a position opened in the dispatch office, Man-
cino applied to further expand her experience in the student transportation industry. In addition to be- ing constantly fast-paced, Mancino said that working
46 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2021
in the dispatch office, “requires being a leader to point other employees in the right direction when they have questions or issues on their routes,” she explained. Mancino also found herself using her various experi- ence in different student transportation roles to support district training. She has also donned the hat of driver or bus aide when routes are short-staffed. “I am spending a lot more time training between classroom, behind the wheel, and documentation, along with proficiencies,” she said. “Many days I work training drivers toward the start of my day. Once I’ve completed the training tasks I work on timeclock, I help with routing and scheduling, and various other tasks.” Mancino was recently certified to teach First Aid and CPR classes, which has allowed for transportation employ- ee training to be kept in house. “I look forward to many more years of inspiring future school bus drivers to con- tinue to make a difference in our students’ lives and get our precious cargo to their destinations safely,” said Mancino.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
