HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — Nearly 200 Harrison County School District bus drivers gathered at West Harrison High School for their annual back-to-school training.
The session covered new policies, student safety and lessons from previous school years—along with the rollout of a new parent-facing technology tool.
New app to give parents real-time bus updates
The biggest change this year is a new app called Stopfinder, set to launch during the first week of school. The app provides parents with real-time updates on bus schedules, route changes and alerts when a bus is approaching their child’s stop.
“So when that bus enters that area, it will alert the parent and give them a little bit of a heads-up that the bus is about to arrive,” said Jason King, HCSD security and compliance director.
Reminders for parents and motorists
King also addressed a recurring issue involving parents boarding school buses.
“One of the issues that we have seen in the past are parents getting onto school buses, and whether it be good intentions or bad intentions, I just want everybody to be aware that it is illegal to get onto a school bus if you’re not a member of the staff or a student,” King said.
Motorists were also reminded that school buses are equipped with cameras capable of capturing drivers who illegally pass a stopped bus with its stop arm extended.
“We do have the ability to prosecute even if they’re not stopped by a police officer at that time,” King said.
Drivers seen as key to student well-being
Transportation Director Tad Shaw said the training reflects the professional standard the district holds its drivers to.
“Our drivers are professionals, and professionals do training. They continually better themselves, and that’s what we’re here to do,” Shaw said.
Shaw added that drivers hold a unique position in the school day.
“The bus driver is the first and often the last employee that students encounter in a given day. So they play a very critical role in what we do in school operations,” Shaw said.
Bus driver Don Berglund said staying attentive to students goes beyond the road.
“It’s good to be on top of what’s happening, to see if there’s anything going on with them. You can see things that are going on, and it’s important for us to notice that,” Berglund said.
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