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Back’ letters from the Superintendent, and their transportation departments’ webpages. Sherwood also helped their drivers field parent
questions while on their routes. Jebens explained, “We printed a QR code the drivers had plastered on their route books. For the first six weeks after we rolled out the app, the parents would ask questions of the driver and they could just hold up that book. Parents would scan the QR code and it would send them to our website where all that information is.” Inevitably, parents will still pick up the phone, but
Jebens noted that as another opportunity. “Every time a parent calls the transportation department, we push them toward My Ride K-12,” he said. Those interactions help parents understand that the information they’re looking for is available on demand through the app — no need to call the office.
How to Get Parents to Use the App Regularly Even after parents download the app, some might
forget to use it. Parent phone calls can be a great opportunity to remind them, and both districts noted My Ride K-12’s push notifications are a helpful way to keep the app top of mind. At BHBL, Hitrick’s team sends a custom push notification at the start of the school year to welcome families back and remind them about the information they can access through My Ride K-12. “It’s easy to forget. I don’t know how many apps I’ve signed up for and don’t even realize I have them,” she said. Many busy parents are likely in the same boat.
Connected Parent Communication
Tyler's My Ride K-12 app can help your students to never miss the bus again. This portal allows parents and students to securely access their bus stop location, route, and pickup time. When your buses are equipped with hardware such as Tyler Drive or Telematic GPS, My Ride K-12 can use GPS geolocation to let users know when to expect their bus each day. This can drastically reduce the number of calls to the transportation department.
Offering more efficient communication and supporting peace of mind, My Ride K-12 is:
• Accessible: Parents and students can easily access routing information on their mobile phones, so accurate and timely routing data is always within reach.
• Integrated: Student and routing data is automatically synchronized between Student Transportation and My Ride K-12. This ensures data is correct and eliminates duplicate reports.
• Intuitive: Parents, students, and administrators can quickly and easily access student data with little to no training. The user-friendly interface will feel familiar to anyone who has used a mobile app.
• Confidential: Tyler understands the importance of keeping student information secure. With My Ride K-12, parents can only access the transportation data of their own children.
Everyday push notifications, such as those for bus ETAs
or student ID card scans, can help too. Jebens explained, “Those notifications remind the parents to use the app because, even if they don’t open My Ride K-12, they get that notification from us that their bus is running late.” Since introducing this feature, the district estimates that the time spent communicating with parents about an incident or late bus has been reduced by 90%. BHBL also encourages parents to use My Ride K-12 by
offering extra support. Hitrick said, “We troubleshoot for them before we send them to Tyler support for help. When they know we’re well-versed in the app, that makes them feel more comfortable using it.” Both districts also include resources for parents on their department web pages, such as instructional documents and FAQs. At Sherwood, Jebens has found that once parents
download My Ride K-12 and see the benefits, they make good use of that resource. “The parents really like it because they get the information when they want it. They can look up their kid’s route at 9:00 in the morning or 9:00 at night,” he said. Beyond the convenience of on-demand information, My Ride K-12 can help give parents peace of mind about their student’s safety. For example, when the app is used in conjunction with scan cards and GPS, parents can check the app to see when and where their student scans on and off the bus. “Just the ease of it puts their mind at ease,” said Hitrick. And when parents feel confident their student is where they should be, that’s one less reason to call the transportation department.
To learn more about Tyler Technologies’ Student Transportation and parent communication solutions, watch our webinar:
tylertech.com/STN-Oct24
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