School BUSRide spoke with Lauren Wallace, interim director, garage operations, in the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation. She spoke about her recent completion of leadership training, as well as the ways in which being an NAPT member has helped her to develop professionally.
Please introduce yourself and tell us about your district
I began my journey with the district as a substitute teacher while I was completing my master’s degree. I was in a classroom and then I later transitioned to the central office as a transportation program coordinator. I chose transportation because I wanted to still have an impact on our students, but I just wanted to do it from the administrative side. I started as a program coordinator and am now a program manager for our special education population.
Over the past several years, I’ve had the privilege to work alongside my mentor Teresa Fleming, who has significantly impacted transportation. It has encouraged me to continue my journey and ascend to higher heights. Because in a few short years I watched her rise from director of industry services to executive director, to deputy chief operating officer, and now interim chief operating officer. So that has definitely inspired me in my journey.
I’m proud to be a member of our operations division. We serve as the intermediate unit, IU 26, and we provide transportation for students attending district schools, non-public charter, and early intervention programs. We manage the transportation resources for over 9,600 eligible students who require daily transportation to and from school. We operate over 2,000 daily routes, utilizing our own fleet as well as contractors, contracted fleet, school buses, and small vehicles. We have over 300 yellow buses, 20 are electric and 38 propane, with more to come, and we operate 388 non-bus vehicles.
We have more than 700 employees within transportation alone.
What is the most pressing challenge for your district’s transportation department?
Driver capacity is a challenge for us. Our operations involve both a mixed district fleet and a contracted services fleet. So, at the top of every year, we’re always concerned that our bus contractors may assign too many drivers to the work, and it’s definitely critical to work with them to identify any potential shortages so we can develop strategies to build stronger relationships with them. But also, to figure out how we can create sustainable long-term relationships for our drivers and lessen the reliance on contractors for our district routes.
How are you seeking to solve this challenge?
Our in-house operations have done an excellent job of addressing the driver shortages through their onboarding and retention. They do paid training programs and have increased the rates for full-time bus staff, so that has definitely been helpful. We also have a bus chauffeur training program which includes paid training. That’s been helpful to draw bus chauffeurs in.
Why is leadership training important to you and what does it mean for your professional development?
It was the best thing that I’ve done since I’ve been in transportation. It motivated me to strive for greater accomplishments. I decided, as soon as Molly started talking, that I wasn’t going to play it safe anymore and I wasn’t just going to focus solely on alternative transportation. I decided, at that moment, that I needed to expand my experience and knowledge to find ways to improve our operations. One of the first things that I did while in training was write the role that I wanted at the top of my paper.
They gave us paper with all their materials, and I wrote down immediately what I saw for myself – and I made it come true. I can’t say enough good things about Molly McGee-Hewitt. She was phenomenal. Her guidance made me eager to learn more about the transportation business, to look further into garage operations, and she even prompted me to attend my first school board meeting which was really awesome. And my takeaway was that effective leaders must adapt their style to their audience and be willing to evolve. That’s what I’m striving to do. It was instrumental and I would encourage all members to participate.
As a seasoned professional, what advice can you offer other NAPT members?
Take leadership training. Be brilliant in the basics. Over-communicate. Know that operations should be founded in policy, and practice self-care. I think implementing those five things will guarantee success.
Burnout is real. We have to start prioritizing our mental health if we’re to stay within transportation for decades.
What can the NAPT organization do to best help you?
I would say continue to encourage and empower future leaders and the field of transportation to achieve excellence. You guys are doing an excellent job at that now. Please continue and keep having conferences and expanding the training academy offerings. My one gripe about the leadership training was that I wish it was even longer. One day wasn’t enough. It was fantastic. I also aspire to obtain my director certification and become an NAPT board member one day, and it wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t see it through this training.
So, keep doing all those things, because they matter.