School Bus Fleet

November 2014

A management & maintenance magazine for school transportation fleets

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S C H O O L B U S F L E E T • N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 48 The bigger and more diffcult notif- cation, from your perspective, is to the employee's fellow drivers and staff. A note on the bulletin board or a ra- dio transmission is not the correct way to share such sensitive news. In most cases, the school bus grapevine will have already taken care of the unoff- cial notifcation; however, the manner in which you share this sensitive and deeply impactful news will be of the utmost importance. A special meeting of staff would be in order. Know what you are going to share in advance, and be prepared for questions. Again, most will know what to expect, but seeing their boss with heart on sleeve separates the true leaders from the cyborg supervisors. That meeting does not need to go into details, just the basic facts as known at the time. Avoid speculation and en- courage folks to stay tuned for more in- formation. The other important aspect of noti- fcation has to do with the students on the bus, those little and big ones who have no idea why their driver is gone. While some may be less concerned, others will fnd the loss of their driv- er very emotional. Getting a formal but personal letter home to the students and parents is the right thing to do. While you must speak to the obvious, it is OK to keep it as simple as possible. Remind the substitute driver that he or she may get questions about the in- cident, and help the substitute with the right response. Route 3: Pay respects to the family One of the frst steps an employer can take is simply "pay respect." As soon as possible, load up the super- intendent and others as needed, stop by the local fower shop, and head to Route 2: Notifcations Depending on the time of the news, you should notify your router/dis- patcher to make sure the driver's route is covered. Make sure the district or company knows as well. The human resources department will need to put its own plan into action. Grief counsel- ors may be in order. The sooner they know, the sooner they can help. One of the most meaningful and touching actions I have seen is to provide transportation, in the school bus of the deceased driver, for drivers who wish to attend the service.

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