LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tera Miller took her kids to get physicals this morning — a service Jefferson County Public Schools offered while school remains closed. This opportunity comes after JCPS faced major transportation challenges last Wednesday, the first day of school — something Miller, a mom of four JCPS students, experienced first-hand.
“Trying to call the compound was a hassle, trying to figure out where they was, ‘cause they were supposed to be home around 4:15 and then when they did up coming home, it was about 5:30 and they were the only two on the school bus when they came home,” Miller said.
Miller is referring to her two elementary school children. She said the situation has given her children anxiety.
On Monday evening, Superintendent Marty pollio announced plans for technology that will allow parents to track the location of their children’s bus.
“Parents will have technology through a mobile app they can load on their phone. They can register through a link that we will be using, have their child’s bus on that link, and they will know exactly where that bus is,” Pollio said.
On Tuesday, JCPS said they are partnering with Edulog, also known as Education Logistics, to help with their transportation issues.
It’s a school bus routing software company which provides GPS tracking systems on school buses aimed at keeping students safe.
“Our approach is to meet our clients where they are, some of our clients have a lot of history with transportation software, other of our clients don’t and our strength is that we have not only industry-leading software but we also have a really strong team of former transportation professionals,” Lam Nguyen with Edulog said in a video the company posted on their website.
Pollio says the goal is to have the app ready for parents to use by Friday when elementary and middle schools head back to school. He said the latest the app will be ready is early next week.
Meanwhile, Miller is uncertain about what the situation will be like on Friday.
“I don’t know what to feel, honestly, because they have to go to school so we really have to work with it,” Miller said.
GPS tracking is one of six points the district outlined to help deal with the bus challenges.
Pollio also announced the district will provide an extra van or bus at the depot if a bus arrives late to the depot and will have JCPS vans to transport elementary school students home or back to school if they do not have an adult awaiting them at the bus stop.