Springdale Public Schools has implemented a new bus routing system and parent portal to better communicate with families and to further improve student safety.
The district is already seeing parents respond to the introduction of the BusQuest bus routing system, said Kevin Conkin, Springdale Schools Transportation director.
“We have sent the parents the link to the parent portal,” he said. “In just a matter of minutes of sending the link, we started seeing them signing into the portal.”
The new program has the capability of texting and emailing families concerning any changes in their district bus service.
“We have already started the process of notifying parents of their child's bus stop, bus number and times,” Conkin said, adding the system will serve both the district and its families.
The system will allow families to:
• Track the location of a bus in real time.
• Receive notifications if a bus is running behind or ahead of schedule.
• Receive updates to their overall bus service.
The Transportation Office also has the capability to:
• See where students are sitting on the bus and with whom they may have come in contact.
• Receive changes to student addresses to update bus routes daily.
• Scan students to understand who is on the bus at all times.
• Use a cloud-based program to see when and where students get on and off the bus.
• Have student information at drivers’ fingertips for young students who may not remember their address.
• Input maintenance requests during pre-trip inspections to streamline the workorder process and further contribute to student safety.
“This will be a game changer in student transportation,” Conkin said.
Use of the routing system’s parent portal is optional and isn’t accessible to anyone who isn’t registered with a district building, school or e-school.
“For safety reasons, not every parent will have access to the portal,” Conkin said. "There is a list of questions they will have to answer and a screening process.”
Student passengers will be scanned as they get on and off the bus to help keep parents, schools and the Transportation Office informed through the BusQuest system.
“When a student is registered in a building, they are issued a bar code number,” Conkin said. “It is the same one that is on their lunch card.”
That code will be printed by schools and attached to elementary student backpacks and adhered to middle, junior and high school name badges.
Traci Day, Transportation Office assistant director, is visiting all district buildings to introduce staff to the new process.
Families can learn more about the BusQuest system by exploring the below links.
BusQuest Parent Portal Registration: https://routing.app-garden.com...
BusQuest FAQs: https://drive.google.com/file/...
BusQuest Parent Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/...