Salem Schools Implement Student, Bus Safety Tracking Measures

SALEM, MA — Salem parents and the school district will be able to track where and when their students get on and off school buses this fall with the launch of a new "Wayfinder" program that scans a student I.D. badge upon bus entry and departure.

The tracking system records where and at what time a student enters the bus and is available to parents and guardians to review as well. Superintendent Steve Zrike said the program will help enhance student safety by letting parents know that they are en route to and from school at what times, and will allow the district to better measure bus ridership so it can potentially offer the service to more families.

"It's important for safety," Zrike said during his recent Facebook Live session with families. "It's also important for us to make sure we are maximizing the resources that we have around transportation so that we can serve as many students as possible. We want to make sure you have
as much information about where your child is at all times."

Salem Schools Transportation Director Vanessa Fagundes said the ability to better track students under school supervision when they are not in the buildings is "something I have been trying to tackle for years."

"It has been a challenge and I think we are finally there," she said. "We've gotten the technology to help us move forward in this area. This is something that we're very excited about. We hope all families download Stopfinder so they can see their child's record as well."

She said that service is an addition to a feature on the parent app that will allow for real-time tracking of bus locations so that parents and guardians can have their children out at the bus stop in a timely matter and know if a bus is behind schedule.

The tracking software is in addition to the Stopfinder GPS surveillance system that will allow buses to record data of drivers failing to stop for buses when students are boarding and departing — which is a state law but is only enforceable when police officers witness a violation.

Peabody has also implemented the pilot program that the districts hope will influence state legislators to enact a law that will enable citations to be issued through video as well as first-hand evidence.

(Also on Patch: Peabody School Bus Stop Safety Data Shows Rampant Driver Violations)

Families will receive more details about these new tools and resources when they receive their bus information during the week of Aug. 19.

Zrike also said district leaders, law enforcement officials and an outside consultant last week held a day-long Safety Summit to examine protocols for emergency situations.

"It was the first time in a while that there has been this level of coordination," Zrike said. "It is important to have these conversations with our colleagues in the police department and different district leaders and departments about how we would work together to coordinate in the event of the unthinkable, or what we hope never happens, if there is a crisis in a school or there is a threat to a school."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)