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Springdale schools implement new app for parents to track their children while on the bus

In certain areas, parents can now download an app to get deeper info on where their children's bus is, and when it will arrive.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Springdale Schools are preparing for a new school year with a new piece of technology.

On Thursday, at their back to school meeting for bus drivers they introduced BusQuest. The app is a bus routing system and parent portal. It will allow parents to track the location of the bus as well as receive notifications if the bus is running behind or ahead of schedule.

The app will also allow parents to be notified when their child gets on or off the bus.

“It allows parents the opportunity to be able to log into a portal, and be able to see when a student scans on the bus and when a student scans off the bus,” said Trent Jones, Director of Communications for Springdale Schools.

Each student will have a barcode that will be on elementary schooler's backpacks and lunchboxes, and on middle and high schooler's name badges.

“The bus driver will scan, and it will log into the system. And if the parent signs up, they'll get a notification. And then when they get off, there's a scan, and then the parents get a notification” said Jones.

Jones said they already have received positive remarks from parents.

“[It's important] to be able to provide parents that opportunity to be able to know where their kids are at all times ... and to just have that peace of mind of knowing that they have the option to be able to know their location,” said Jones.

Jones said this year’s meeting was fuller than usual with 135 bus drivers in attendance.

“We have approximately 135 people in this room, which is great. But believe it or not, even though we have 135, we still need 10 more drivers” said Jones.

Last year, the district was forced to remove bus routes because of staff shortages.

“Even though we still need bus drivers. It's really good to be in a situation where you can see over 130 people coming to serve our young people,” said Jones.

Springdale Schools expect a learning curve for this new system but they want to focus on creating a safer ride for students.

“Whenever you implement different programs or protocols, there's always going to be some elements of learning. And that's good, because what's at the heart of school— learning and ... safety,” said Jones.

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