SPECIAL REPORT
Atlanta’s application also
includes cleaning checklists, where drivers log their trip cleaning and disinfecting upon completion. While Here Comes the Bus has the capability of providing specific accountabil- ity, Atlanta has yet to use that function. Still, value is evident. “There’s actually a time and
attendance element of this,” shared John Franklin, the executive director of trans- portation for Atlanta Public Schools. “There’s still some more blanks to fill in related to the project. But there’s anoth- er element that we’re taking a gradual modified approach to, not just throwing it all out there at once.” Franklin said there are many things to consider when using such an application for accountability, as it may require more effort in using identification cards, tags, and equipment. Atlanta’s current adoption is a first step. Subse- quent incremental steps may be added in the future to boost accountability. “It is part of our longterm fu-
ture and immediate future,” he added. “There are some things that you have to think about with issuing kids ID cards, proximity readers, and things like that. We would want to test that out, budget for it, and then launch it. But the need is there.” Franklin noted that the
pandemic has punctuat- ed the need. Atlanta is now approaching implementation of the Synovia application in stages. However, Franklin said he believes that the accuracy of a student carrying an ID badge and taking attendance when a student walks through a proximity reader is a superi-
36 School Transportation News • MARCH 2021
or way of providing accurate and granular accountability. Such accountability may not only help with contact tracing but also pro- vide excellent accountability of students—during a pandemic, or at any time thereafter. Similar to Atlanta’s approach,
20%
OF READERS SAY THEY HAVE
STUDENT TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
(Out of 184 responses to a recent School
Transportation News survey.)
Beaumont Independent School District in Texas has technology in place but has yet to use it for contact tracing efforts. “Each driver disinfects their bus after each tier of students are dropped off at their respec- tive campus,” explained Todd Coleman, the senior director of transportation. “Based on this practice, no student from a previ- ous tier will remain on the bus.” Beaumont presently uses
SMARTtag for bus ridership track- ing only. “Using the technology for contact tracing is something that the district is looking into,” Coleman added, noting that there is a parent portal to the tracking technology that the district uses.
No Child Left Behind … On The Bus Aside from technology, school
leaders are leaning on practical policy to govern where students sit and how they are accounted. Such policies are intertwined with procedures for cleaning and disinfecting by the drivers. Students left behind on the bus?
It happens, but it shouldn’t. As the pandemic came into
full swing last spring, a Semi- nole County elementary school student in Sanford, Florida, didn’t get off the bus. The student was later found at the school bus storage facility by another driver. In September, a young student fell asleep on a Vigo County
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