Corrina (Corrie) Sandholm was previously
a correctional officer with the South Dakota Department of Corrections and was looking for a career change. She had previous experience dispatching semi-trailers, and applied for a dispatcher position at contractor School Bus Inc. She was hired and started in April 2022. She was then promoted to transportation manager in July of this year. Sarah Jahner, human resources manager
Corrina Sandholm | Transportation Manager School Bus Inc. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
for the company, said Sandholm, “not only adjusted quickly to the school bus industry, but did so with a passion for success and a determination not to fail.” Jahner noted that Sandholm restructured the dispatcher process and established positive working relationships with a team of over 100 professional school bus drivers while helping carryout a mission of completing over 330 runs per day for the Sioux Falls School District. Additionally, she saw a need to support the routing department while it transitioned to Transfinder Routefinder PLUS and Zonar’s Zpass student ridership tracking system. “She dedicated time to learn the new
system and help start the 2022-2023 school year with the new program on-time,” Jahner said. “She didn’t stop there, she saw a gap in the training to help drivers learn the new technology, [Transfinder] Wayfinder’s turn- by-turn directions and took it upon herself to master the tool and provide one on one training for every driver that needed help, often riding with them on their route to help provide them real time training.” Sandholm said that one of her biggest challenges amid school startup this year was teaching the new hires the
technology. “We are providing education, which includes video courses and Power Point presentations,” she said. “Once the education is completed, we have an immersive experience, where new hires drive our routes while using the technology. This hands-on learning helps cement the knowledge they gained in the coursework. We are able to provide individualized training, one on one, if necessary.” She said her goal moving forward is
to continue to optimize the newly added technology and utilize it in a manner that will best serve the community and company. However, one of her favorite projects
she’s worked on was the creation of care plans for students with specific needs. “Such as if
they have severe allergies and may require a driver to use an epi-pen, this documentation is considered a care plan,” she said. “I helped create this process through Transfinder. This improvement
allowed us to move away from Google Docs, which was not allowing us the data sharing necessary for the job. Now the information is right in the student data base.” Jahner added that Sandholm is confident in her efforts to explain the tools she needs to get the job done. “Her dedication and willingness to move from dispatch to routing to training based on the need of the moment was paramount in the success of the new technology,” she added. “Corrie gained the respect of her peers and is often looked to for support in answering questions or helping work through difficult situations.” When she’s not working, Sandholm said she enjoys camping, kayaking and hiking as well as spending time with her two daughters.
42 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2023
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