In the old days, parents just had to hope for the best when they sent their kid off, knowing that they wouldn’t get any updates until the child returned home at the end of the day.
No cell phones, no communication between schools and their buses, and no way to notify anyone in case of an emergency on the go.
With all of the safety technology available these days, it’s never been easier to keep calm when your child is off to school.
Wishing all of our Ezreinu families a safe and smooth beginning of the school year!
Tracking Apps
Recently, many parents have been taking advantage of the various tracking devices available to keep tabs on their children. Attachment methods (such as pouches, hooks, etc.) either come with the device or can be purchased separately. The child can be tracked via the connected app.
Here are a few of our favorites (click on the picture to be connected to the corresponding website):
Car Safety
For some parents, it makes more sense for their schedule to drive their child to school themselves. But without a bus monitor in the back seat, it’s hard to stay on top of a cute – and very determined – escape artist!
After asking around, here is the top product parents are recommending to keep your child safety buckled:
Walking Safety
Many children with special needs have a tendency to run off suddenly without warning. If you’re pushing a stroller, holding packages, or just caught unaware, it can take a few seconds too many to catch up with your child.
These parent-approved options can be connected to the wrist of the parent or to a sibling’s stroller, enabling your walk to school to remain safe:
DOE Busing for Schools
School administration often bears the brunt of the transportation burden – acting as the complaints box for parents, dealing with DOE regulations, and manning the back-and-forth between bus-drivers, liaisons, and parents. Keeping track of who to contact when different issues arise is a job of its own.
Click the button below for helpful guidelines for navigating these issues.
Public, non-public and preschool personnel and administration can use this page to access applications, forms and Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) policy and procedure information.
school busing: when to contact transportation liaison, bus company, and OPT
NYSCA account creation support
preschool busing: when to contact your program’s office, bus company, and OPT
School responsibilities when receiving transportation services from NYC-DOE Office of Pupil Transportation
Login link to OPT Info Stop, which contains training videos and documents.
Access to transportation systems and apps
School Bus Administrative Tracking
Does your school use a private busing company?
Need a way to keep track of where buses are, update drivers regarding route changes, and let parents track their own children’s buses without flooding the school office with frantic phone calls?
Many schools use GeoTrack, an app which allows you to do all of the above.
Administration can track each bus, the drivers can see their route and get updated with any changes, and parents can track their child’s route with the app, or call/text the system to receive current bus location.
Visit geotrackny1.com for more information.
We’re busy gearing up for the upcoming school year…
While dozens of children with special needs still lack appropriate school placement.
Parents – you’re the *experts* here, and we need YOUR opinion.
Click the button below → Fill out a 6-question form → Help Ezreinu give top recommendations to families like yours → Automatically enter a raffle to win a free pizza dinner for your family!
Fill out the form by Wednesday, October 2nd to enter the raffle!
(Feel free to submit form afterwards, too! No pizza, but we WILL read the form, and you’ll still be able to help other families!)