With growth comes change, and the New Caney Independent School District in Texas, located about 30 miles north from Houston, has been experiencing both in the last five years with its student population.
Within the past year, its transportation department went through a major overhaul with technology in various forms, from implementing routing software for the first time, to introducing iPad tablets for supervisory staff and moving to a complete cloud-based system for storing all department files, forms and other important data.
Many of the current departmental forms have been created by apps, or applications, and now those who were once intimidated by the new technology, are embracing it and teaching others on how to acclimate themselves to it.
New Caney’s director of transportation, Josh Rice (shown above, reviewing evaluations submitted via Dropbox by his coordinators), said during the current 2013-2014 school year, the cloud-based system transportation uses will expand to the campus level, so he can share bus surveillance videos with administrators.
“This saves time in that now we don’t have to travel to the campus with a laptop and hard drive for them to be able to get the information,” said Rice, who’s been in his role at the district for a little more than two years and has been the guiding force behind the technological overhaul in the department.
“Technology makes things so much easier, and I think that’s what people are afraid of — that technology would replace them, but it just makes their job easier.”
First Came Routing, Then Came the iPads
In the 2012-2013 school year, New Caney ISD implemented routing software for the first time, replacing a completely manual, outdated routing system. An outdated system just turns to worse when a school district is experiencing continued growth.
During the past five years, enrollment at the district has grown by about 30 percent, and according to population and survey analysts, for the past two years the district has been the fastest-growing in the greater Houston area.
With new students entering the system practically throughout the school year, transportation went with routing software to help them stay in pace with the continuous route changes. In addition to routing, the department also added field trip management software, and then the routing software was integrated with the school district’s SIS program, which now automatically uploads data for the district’s 12,500-plus students to the routing software.
The routing software made a difference from the start. For example, in the 2011-2012 school year, the department operated 16 double runs at the elementary level. In the 2012-2013 school year, using the software, double runs were reduced to two. Mid-day routes also were reduced. All this resulted in a savings of more than $100,000, which recouped the cost of the software within the first calendar year, Rice said.
Though it may not help save money, the other technology implemented in transportation has helped save time and made operations more efficient and consistent, while improving communication among the staff.
In the 2012-2013 school year, Rice implemented iPads in transportation. All supervisory staff received an iPad and training on how to use it. He bought them with the simple intention to make evaluations with bus drivers while on the bus much easier.
“We conduct two ride-a-longs, both the morning and afternoon routes, twice a year for every driver. It’s just something we feel is important to our team,” he said.
After the iPads came the usage of apps for different purposes. Rice said he only uses apps that are free or inexpensive. He began to use an app from Apple called Numbers (the equivalent to Excel) and was able to create a BTW evaluation template for his staff.
“They only had to fill in a couple of blanks, and the rest of the evaluation was check boxes,” he said, and added that surprisingly to him, “within weeks, my supervisors were coming in and showing me new forms they had created on the iPad. The lid was off the jar, and it was amazing the things that they were using the iPads for.”
Rice added that now the supervisory staff use the iPads for performance notices, staff listing spreadsheets, uniform inventory, bus cleanliness checks, and more.
Entering the App World
Soon after, he implemented the use of Dropbox, a cloud-based file sharing system available to individuals for personal storage and to larger entities for complete virtual file sharing and other administrative work. Users of Dropbox can access their files through a web browser or through an app icon.
Rice said everyone found Dropbox to be beneficial because they could install the app version on an iPad, desktop, laptop or smartphone and be able to access needed information any time.
“We set up folders for each supervisor, and they are now able to complete evaluations and save them to their folder where they could be viewed by others on the administrative team,” he said. “My staff quickly realized that being able to store files both on the iPad and the cloud made it much easier in organization, and saved them from digging through a file cabinet in search of something that was now stored digitally. The iPads have been a great implementation for our department.”
Rice said his staff is now able to conduct an evaluation, and then have the bus driver actually sign the iPad before saving the form (photo at left shows Rice showing an evaluation form to one of his bus drivers). “No more wasted paper, because we are going green,” Rice noted.
Another useful app Rice began to use was Keynote, similar to PowerPoint. One of his supervisors uses the program to create the department’s presentation that changes daily for the message board.
“We have a 51-inch monitor, along with two 37-inch monitors, that display important information to our staff daily; things such as birthdays, promotions, early releases, district announcements, safety messages, and sub assignments … are posted on the digital message boards,” he explained.
Keynote is also being used during his supervisors’ presentations.
“Whether hard-wired through a cable, or using AirPlay, which allows you to walk around during your presentation, we are moving forward with technology,” Rice said, noting that even the students are amazed to see adults within his department using the iPads.
He recently purchased additional iPads for use in the bus yard, as technicians utilize school bus fleet management software, and soon technicians will be able to access the software through a dedicated app on their iPads. Also new to the department is a web-based student discipline software for bus drivers. Rice said computers are now set up in the drivers’ room so drivers can report any student misconduct.
Being an Early Adopter
In his role, Rice wanted to grab on to technology and take advantage of it early on. While that might be an easy thing for the 30-year-old transportation director to adapt to, it wasn’t for others.
Rice recalled a staff meeting he called last December to distribute the iPads. One female employee, after receiving her iPad and feeling uncomfortable with it, told Rice he was going to put her in a grave early.
“I told her don’t worry,” he said, knowing there would be a lot of people who would find it confusing. But, much has changed.
That staff member has since learned so much about the iPad and the apps used that Rice said she has aided him in his technology training sessions, explaining the technology to others.
“To have someone older help others is a big help.”
