TEA Winner: Increasing Access to Educational Programs
Organization Profile
- Industry: School District
- Location: Meridian, Idaho
- Number of Employees: 3,300
- Students: 38,000
- Tyler Client Since: 2022
- Tyler Products Used: Student Transportation, Tyler Drive, My Ride K-12
- Tyler Excellence Award Winner: Equity & Access
Challenges
As the largest school district in Idaho, West Ada School District serves 38,000 students and transports almost half of that population every day. With myriad after-school activities, special off-site programs, and students under the McKinney-Vento Act, the district is no stranger to complicated routing and complex student needs. Erin Sweeney, a routing specialist for the district, said, “We make sure kids can get to these opportunities. That’s something that I love about our district — we’re able to support students in that way.”
The district relied on a parent survey at the beginning of the school year to determine how many students needed daily transportation to school and special programs. With parents checking ‘Yes’ to daily transport as a precaution, even if their student primarily walked or was driven to school, West Ada’s transportation department received an inaccurate and unmanageable count of bus routes and stops needed. The team was left guessing what actual ridership would be when the semester started. Sweeney explained, “In some areas, we guessed right. In other areas, we didn’t, and we’d have overcrowding. The first month of school was very hectic.” The district needed a solution that could deliver accurate and actionable data on student ridership to plan efficient routes and best utilize their drivers.
Solution
West Ada School District began looking for routing software that could connect all aspects of transportation management, and chose Tyler Technologies’ Student Transportation solution for dynamic routing, student ridership, and parent communication capabilities. Sweeney said, “One of the things that stood out to us about Student Transportation when we were looking for a new routing system was the many pieces that work together — being able to have student ID badges, a parent communication app, and onboard tablets for the drivers.”
Results
Student Transportation’s dynamic routing and Advanced Trips functionality aided Sweeney and the transportation team in creating custom routes for special services and activity trips. Not only do students now have equitable access to these additional programs, but the district also has transparency into how many students are using these services. “We can now monitor students who haven’t ridden the bus in weeks and proactively adjust routes, removing inactive riders without relying on parents to notify us. This has led to cost savings by identifying and canceling empty shuttles,” Sweeney said. “It allows us to give our students what they actually need and helps us figure out where we can best utilize the drivers we have, because everyone’s in a driver shortage.”
To increase transparency for stakeholders across the district, West Ada added student scan badges and My Ride K-12, Tyler’s integrated parent communication app. With the My Ride K-12 app, parents can see when their student scans onto the bus, where the bus is, and receive push notifications from the district if there is a delay or mechanical issue. The ability to communicate with parents via My Ride K-12 has significantly reduced the number of phone calls to the transportation office. Sweeney said, “In the past, we’ve even had to hire temps to answer phones, and we don’t have to do that now. I know that’s because of My Ride K-12. The parents know where their students are going or why they’re late — messages are sent right to them. They’re able to look on the app and get an idea of where the bus is and how far away it is from their stop. The number of calls went down immensely because parents weren’t panicking when the bus didn’t show up on time.”
We’ve been able to make Student Transportation exactly what we need. It helps us support all our students and their different adventures.
Erin Sweeney
Routing Specialist
West Ada is a diverse and multi-cultural school district, serving families who speak 85 different native languages. Increasing community access to transportation tools with multiple language settings, such as My Ride K-12, was a top priority for West Ada. Sweeney said, “Previously, families had to call our office and rely on translators, delaying responses. Now, with the app’s multilingual capabilities, they can access real-time information in their preferred language — empowering them with immediate, self-service support.”
Looking forward, Sweeney and her team will continue to find ways for the software to best serve students and families. “We’ve been able to make Student Transportation exactly what we need. It helps us support all our students and their different adventures,” said Sweeney.