FRISCO, Texas – A TSD Conference audience joined a panel of four experienced female transportation managers in discussng aspects of routing technology usage that can benefit students, parents and transportation staff.
The Sunday panel was comprised of clients of presenter Transfinder and was moderated by Arnold Byrd, the company’s sales enablement specialist.
Lisa Sawyer, transportation coordinator for Tracy Unified School District in central California, has over 90 school buses and 100 staff members. When she started, the department had about 30 buses and routing was done with Excel spreadsheets. While her current solutions of Transfinder and Zonar aren’t the cheapest, she said they provide the best value and usefulness.
“For me, the hardest part was getting the district to realize they HAD a transportation department,” she said, eliciting a roomful of cheers. Prioritizing student safety and collaborating with special education departments helps ensure students with special needs are provided the transportation service they need and are legally required to have.
LoWanda Bowman-Brown, transportation director for City Schools of Decatur in Georgia for the past 11 years, said that paper route sheets had proved inadequate while a technology company they recruited had struggled with modifying technology to fit the smaller district’s needs.
She advised districts to pick what software best fits their unique needs and have the IT team involved the whole way.
“We’re going to need technology but we’re also going to need people.”
LoWanda Bowman-Brown, Transportation Director, City Schools of Decatur (Ga.)
Annette “Kecia” Ling, transportation director at Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in Georgia, oversees 460 school buses serving over 20,000 students. She said she looked for a solution that her staff and parents would be comfortable with and praised Transfinder’s ability to reduce the time spent on routing.
She noted that going away from paper route sheets which could get wet or damaged along the way made it easier for drivers and, by extension, transportation administration. Technology also helps drivers complete tiered routes, she noted, or quickly take over a substitute route in a pinch. For students with special needs, which the district calls “extraordinary students,” it makes their pertinent information readily available for the driver and attendant.
Sandy Dillman, director of transportation for Tomball Independent School District in Texas, leads 200 drivers and attendants who transport 13,000 students daily. She sad that when she started, the internet didn’t really exist and written paper routes caused confusion. She reviewed the districts of various sizes that she’d worked with over her decades in the industry and underscored that preemptive parent communication is essential to remove burdens from transportation’s daily load.
With school bus technology, “everything is at your fingertips and ready to go where it needs to go,” she said.
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A Kansas school bus driver trainer in the audience noted that integration is important so a parent can sign their student up as a bus rider and transportation can easily add them onto a route.
In answer to an attendee question about information sharing to drivers and aides, Ling shared that such information is controlled on the Transfinder side so drivers can only see what they need to know on their tablets.
Sawyer added that notes can be added on student triggers or behaviors that drivers and aides should be aware of. Byrd with Transfinder noted that symbols can be used as such notations instead of labels.
Sometimes technology is required to meet district administrative goals, as was the case for Bowman-Brown in Decatur. Ling advised coming up with a technology implementation process that worked for everyone who needed to be in contact with it.
“Teamwork is the secret sauce that allows common leaders the ability to accomplish unrealistic expectations and achieve uncommon goals in uncommon circumstances.”
– Annette “Kecia” Ling, Transportation Director, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (Ga.)
Dillman praised the peace of mind that comes for both transportation staff and parents in knowing where each student is at any given time. Rather than getting a panicked “we lost a kid” call, staff can be notified of a student who didn’t scan off the bus and easily look up that student’s daily scan details.
Attendee Steven Fernandez, who is director of transportation for Modesto City Schools in California and has 40 years of experience in student transportation, reviewed his progression from handwritten paper route sheets to Excel spreadsheets, and finally to Transfinder’s electronic records and routing. He shared that previously new students were inconsistently added to whatever driver’s route was convenient, but now they are added to the best-fitting and most efficient route.
Another attendee shared that with just two routers she is able to leverage technology to handle all routing needs, readily assign a student to a bus, or easily locate a missing student. “It’s priceless to have that technology,” she stated.
“It’s a game changer,” agreed Bowman-Brown.
The panelists noted that electronic record-keeping, data sorting and report creating helps speed the state reporting process up, reduces human errors, and provides peace of mind. Ling added that they greatly assist emergency responders as well.
Ling also shared how she uses smart routing to add extraordinary students to general education routes, with an attendant if necessary, to better assist their developmental and social goals, as well as achieve better operational efficiency.
Transfinder provides this “very valuable data at the click of a button,” she stated.
When implementing new technology, Bowman-Brown advised giving school bus drivers and aides both training and time to adjust. Allow staff to give feedback and make decisions too, Ling added. Dillman recommended participating in professional development and seeking advice from other districts. Sawyer noted that the patience pays off in the end with efficiencies for all.
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One attendee suggested adding new technology in phases so as to not overwhelm driver. Others said that staff members who are tech-savvy can assist those who aren’t, as well as keep morale up and avoid resentment over the new procedures.
Attendee Lisa Connors, director of transportation for Peabody Public Schools in Massachusetts and a student transporter with almost 30 years of experience, shared her excitement for routing technology to save her a lot of man-hours, late nights and stress. “Right now, we’re just using my brain,” she said.
Byrd noted that both technology and staff knowledge must be utilized for a successful operation. “Technology can’t replace a Lisa,” he remarked.
“We’re going to need technology but we’re also going to need people,” concluded Bowman-Brown.
Byrd noted that technology can be a means to a lasting legacy of positive change in a district. The panelists closed with their technology wishes for the future, which mostly centered on safety for students with special needs.