The past few months have no doubt been a turbulent time for your district. As staff and students alike struggle to process the wake of the pandemic, they’ve also been working as hard as they can to complete their respective responsibilities in unfamiliar—and sometimes challenging—ways. Distance learning brings new hardships for everyone, from the students themselves to the administrators; your district is no doubt feeling the strain in some way or another.

It’s for this reason that your mindset as an administrator might have shifted from “going above and beyond” to “just get through the day.” As you wake up, get coffee, and immediately rush to your computer to put out metaphorical fires, you might feel that there’s little else you can do at this point. On some days, in some respects, this might be the case. Nobody is operating at peak capacity during a pandemic, especially when you add novel technologies and new schedules to the mix. We at American Student Transportation Services, as providers of student transportation services, understand how difficult working in education is. We play an integral role in many districts’ day-to-day routines, and we see firsthand how hardworking and dedicated Minnesota school teachers and staff are. We see how you strive to lift your students up and support them while setting them up for a lifetime of educational and working-world success. From the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to thank you for all that you do for our future generations.

We’d also like to remind everyone that there will be an eventual end to this stress and these difficult times. Though getting through the day under these conditions as a school employee is an extremely admirable feat, there will come a time in which we must begin to plan for the future again. Among other things, this also means starting to plan for when you’ll need group transportation services or school field trip bus rental, or just additional help from your school bus contractor to get everything back to normal again when your students return to in-person learning.

How can you even begin to do this now, though? You’re stressed and spread thin as it is. Furthermore, why should you begin to plan this at this very moment? If you’re not returning to in-person instruction until the fall, don’t you have plenty of time? On the other hand, if you are returning to in-person instruction soon, won’t you be focused on that return to normalcy and not what’s going to happen next year or months down the line?

While times are tough and the future is uncertain, it pays to start to plan events with your group transportation services now. As a school bus contractor, American Student Transportation Services is here to explain why.

It’s All About the Benefits of Open Communication

We hear it time and time again: communication is key, whether it comes to personal relationships or workplace success. It is also key when you’re hiring a service, such as a school bus contractor, to fulfill your needs. Reaching out ahead of when there begins to be a problem with those needs ensures that you receive the best service possible. For example, the earlier you inform your school field trip bus rental services of a potential need, the more likely they will be able to arrange their schedule in the future to attend to your needs. If they don’t, it’s on them, not you, as you gave them plenty of time to prepare for this event. You’ve got enough stress going on in the present. You can’t possibly get rid of all your stresses, so the best thing you can do is ensure that you won't encounter more of it in the future.

Getting ahold of your preferred school bus contractor now regarding any changes in service also:

• Is courteous | Times are hard right now for everyone. We all do better when another person shows us a little courtesy and kindness. Reaching out right now shows that you care about the wellbeing of your school bus contractor, as you’re being extremely proactive in your scheduling requests, which cuts down on last-minute planning.

• Can be good for your stress levels | We’ve all had days where we feel like nothing is getting done and that nothing ever will get done. As a school administrator, you’ve no doubt dealt with your fair share of these days, and you know how much of a headache they are. However, initiating contact with your school bus contractor is a good way to break this mental cycle. Making plans for the future knocks something off of your to-do list and can give you the initiative you need to keep going. However, this only holds true if you’re working with a client-focused school bus contractor like American Student Transportation Services. The goal here is to reduce stress levels through open communication, not increase them through unread correspondences!

• Lets you look towards the future | As hard as getting by is for everyone right now, it’s helpful to remember that the hardships will pass. It can be difficult to keep that in mind, though, when you’re stuck in that “just get through the day” mindset. Planning exciting events for your students’ futures can help shift this mindset into something more helpful and positive, and the best way to start that planning is by reaching out to your student transportation services.

Current School Bus Contractor Not Cutting It? Experience Great Service with American Student Transportation Services

Your school bus services should be your district’s partner in creating student success. If they’re not, our team at American Student Transportation Services would like to show you what that feels like. Give our Blaine terminal a call at 651-621-8900 now.