Conroe ISD bus riders to use high-tech system
Conroe ISD is rolling out a program officials say will add another layer of security by using technology to allow parents and teachers to track students on school buses.
The district this week began using the SMART Tag system, which requires bus riders boarding and exiting to scan a card, giving parents the ability to sign up for notifications and know when their child’s bus will arrive for pickup in the morning and drop-off in the afternoon. The system also records when and where a student gets on and off a bus.
The school board approved $850,000 for the system in August.
“It’s really important to make sure students are on the right bus,” said Chris McCord, assistant superintendent of Operations for CISD. “Right now, we have 320 bus routes, and we have 40,000 students that ride the bus. It’s a real problem if a young student gets off at the wrong bus stop.”
McCord said the new system makes sense with the district’s efforts to secure campus to ensure no one can enter a building undetected. The new system gives the district the ability to offer similar security for its buses.
“It’s another layer helping us keep people who are not CISD students off our buses,” McCord said.
The system, McCord said, will also be beneficial when substitute drivers are needed since they won’t know the students like the regular route driver.
“They are driving routes that they are not familiar with,” McCord said. “It’s a challenge, and they are doing it with precious cargo.”
McCord said each student will be given a SMART Tag identification card and lanyard over the next several weeks. The cards will have the student’s name printed on them, but there is no personal information stored on the card, McCord said.
If a student does not have their card, they can provide their name to the driver, who can pull up their information and photo on the tablet in the bus to verify the students, McCord said.
The district, McCord said, has set up a website to provide more information and the rollout process of the system.
Director of Communications Sarah Blakelock said the program is expected to be fully implemented by May.