The Poplar Bluff School District is piloting its new bus tracking app Here Comes The Bus at the Early Childhood and Kindergarten centers with plans to roll out the parent access tool district-wide for the 2023/24 school year. 

The R-I Transportation Department began receiving its initial training followed by webinars shortly after Jon McKinney took the reins as director in July, a software technician position was created thereafter, and the associated hardware continues to be installed as the bus fleet expands.

“This is just a better way to communicate with our parents so they have a sense of security knowing their son or daughter is on the bus and when they get to school,” McKinney explained. “On our end, it should cut down on phone calls, because parents should literally be able to look on their phone and see when and where their child stepped on the bus.”

Under the pilot, parents and guardians of bus riders will soon receive letters in the mail providing instructions for downloading the app or visiting the website, then entering the unique student identification number supplied, and setting the preferred radius for receiving communication via text or email.

Students will scan their district-issued ID when entering and exiting the bus, and drivers will have access to a touchscreen with a name-based ridership module for the lower grade levels. The geofence can be set between 750 feet and two miles eliminating wait times at bus stops, and real-time alerts will automatically be sent to caregivers when students have arrived at school.

The locator has the capacity to refresh every 15 seconds using a single primary address drawn from the district’s student information system. Families of multiple children riding different buses can be tracked simultaneously. Individuals may only sign up for push notifications if they are on the student’s emergency contact list.

The Board of Education approved the acquisition of the fleet management system prior to McKinney’s arrival, selecting Synovia Solutions CalAmp as the low bidder, applying startup dollars from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to “create a more predictable transportation experience for kids and parents,” R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill stated last school year. 

According to the proposal, the GPS-based transportation management software supports more of the top 25 largest school transportation systems in the United States than other vendors. The app was launched in 2014 and interfaces with Transfinder, the district’s routing system that has been utilized for several years, along with offering other administrative features.

“Basically we are moving to a time where school buses will have the same navigation system available in cars or Google Maps on your phone, which greatly helps new drivers and substitute drivers not as familiar with the routes,” McKinney continued. “Technology is pushing into this industry, making everything accessible, from arrival time to departure time of buses and the ability to live track them, hopefully making our routes more efficient, safer and consistent.” 

The plan is to launch Here Comes The Bus across the entire school system next academic year, after the soft rollout is completed this spring in order to troubleshoot. So far McKinney says “the technology has honestly surpassed our expectations,” and he anticipates that the district’s approximately 2,200 riders on over 200 bus routes built into the database will be fairly accurate in advance of the first day of school.

Article by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District

The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is proud to announce the selections for four executive staff members to join the association in July. These individuals will serve the association and its member schools by continuing the outstanding service of retiring Assistant Executive Directors Davine Davis, Kenny Seifert, and Greg Stahl. In conjunction with the addition of our new hires, current Associate Executive Director, Stacy Schroeder, will become Senior Associate Executive Director, and current Chief Financial Officer, Craig Long, will become Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer. A tremendous number of applicants from the state of Missouri and beyond were considered, including professionals from both within and outside of education. This extensive search has culminated in the naming of Toni Hill, Associate Executive Director, James Melton, Associate Executive Director, Daryl Bradley, Assistant Executive Director and Stephanie Turner, Coordinator for Sports and Activities.

Toni Hill comes to MSHSAA as Associate Executive Director as part of a celebrated career in education. Hill is currently the superintendent of Bloomfield (Mo.) R-14 School District, where she has served in that role for eleven years. She has a bachelor’s in Elementary Education, a master’s in Secondary Administration and an educational specialist’s in Educational Administration, all from Southeast Missouri State University. A native of Bernie, Mo., Hill began her teaching career in Hayti, Mo., as a junior high mathematics teacher. She moved to Bloomfield as a high school mathematics and science teacher before becoming the middle school principal and then moving to position of high school principal. Hill was the superintendent in Portageville, Mo., from 2006-2012 before coming back to Bloomfield. Toni served on the MSHSAA Board of Directors from 2008-2017, where she was president in 2011-2012, and served four years on the NFHS Board of Directors. She is currently President Elect of Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA), Vice-Chair of Missouri Beta Club State Council, and is the former president of the Southeast Missouri Superintendents Association and the SCAA Superintendent Association. She was the 2022 Pierce Award winner from MASA. Hill and her husband Jeremy have three children, Jake (Claire), Lindsey (Andrew), and Dawson.

James Melton is the Director of Fine Arts for Columbia Public Schools. He has served in this role since 2013 after serving as a choral music teacher at the middle school and junior high level in Columbia for twelve years. Melton completed a Bachelor of Science in Music Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master of Arts in Education in Curriculum and Instruction at Lindenwood University. He will join MSHSAA as Associate Executive Director, taking over as the administrator for Music, among other duties. Originally from Northwest Missouri, Melton moved to Columbia for undergraduate studies after graduating from Maryville (Mo.) High School. He has served as a MSHSAA State Large Ensemble Festival Manager and Coordinator of All-State and All-District Choirs for the Northeast District Missouri Choral Directors Association (MCDA) and Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA). He has also served on the executive board of MCDA and on the advisory committee for the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education. As Fine Arts Director in Columbia, he has designed and implemented multiple enrollment events and provided experiences in the arts for thousands of students every year. He is a National Board-Certified Vocal Music Teacher and has certifications in facilitation or coaching with the Society for Human Resources Management, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through NCCJ, Gallup Strengths, and “Franklin Covey 7 Habits” and “Leader in Me”. Melton, his wife, Lori, and daughter, Addison reside in Columbia.

Daryl Bradley has been a fixture in Monett, Mo., since his hiring there as an elementary physical education teacher in 2000. After serving as the athletic director for the middle school from 2006 through 2010, he became the Monett R-1 School District Activities Director in 2010. Bradley has served in many additional capacities while being a teacher and activities director: high school dean of students, head wrestling and golf coach, assistant football coach, and middle school head wrestling and football coach. He hails from Oklahoma, where he was a two-time state high school wrestling champion and the Class 2A Oklahoma Wrestler of the year. He wrestled in college at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kan., where he earned an associate’s degree in History. While at Labette, he was a two-time NJCAA National Qualifier, an All-American, and an Academic All-American. His wrestling career continued at Huron University in Huron, South Dakota, where he earned a bachelor’s in Health and Physical Education and was an NAIA National Qualifier. In his 20 years as a wrestling coach, he has coached 134 state qualifiers, 25 state champions, and 10 High School All-Americans. He was the head coach during Monett’s Class 2 State Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2020. Bradley has won numerous awards as a wrestling coach, including the Missouri Coaches Association’s State Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2019. Bradley is a MSHSAA wrestling official and had already been assigned to officiate for the 2023 MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships.

Over the course of his 17 years as an athletic and activities administrator, Bradley facilitated the addition of eight sports at the high school and middle school and numerous facility additions and improvements while Monett teams won four state championships and finished in the top four in eight others. He is a member of the Missouri Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) Board of Directors, representing the Southwest district, and serves on the MSHSAA AD Advisory committee. Bradley was named the Southwest District AD of the year in 2015. He will join MSHSAA this summer as Assistant Executive Director. Among his duties will be administrator for the sport of wrestling. Together with his wife of 25 years, Carrie, he has two sons, Garret and Gunnar.

Stephanie Turner will become the first Coordinator for Sports and Activities for MSHSAA. She has been an art teacher at South Callaway High School in Mokane, Mo., since 2008, and the school’s head cross country coach since 2011. Turner’s family lived in several different states as she was growing up, but settled in the Mokane area when she was in high school, so Turner came back to teach and coach at her alma mater. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from William Woods University and a master’s in Positive Coaching from the University of Missouri- Columbia. In addition to her teaching and head coaching duties, Turner has served as assistant girls basketball coach and a member of the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) Leadership Team for South Callaway. She is currently a member of the Inside/Out Coaching Leadership team for the school. She is a trainer for Crisis Prevention Intervention for school employees in six school districts, and serves on the Board of Directors for YMCA of Callaway County. Her career began as a Youth Specialist for the Missouri Department of Social Services. Turner and her husband, Justin, reside in Fulton.

The Bloomfield Board of Education held a special board meeting this morning at 7 am.  The board opened the meeting and went directly into executive session.  During the executive session, the board approved the resignation of Toni Hill, effective 6/30/23.  She has taken a position with MSHSAA.

The board hired Mr. Jason Karnes for the superintendent's position with a two year contract. 

The Bloomfield School District will be in great hands under the leadership of Mr. Karnes in the coming years. 

“I’m excited and blessed to receive this opportunity at Bloomfield Schools,” said Karnes. “Bloomfield has been great to me for fifteen years, and I’m looking forward to serving our community, staff, and students as superintendent. I have some big shoes to fill. Mrs. Hill has been a great superintendent at Bloomfield, as well as a great mentor for me.”

2023 Stoddard County Scholastic Meet General Achievement Grade 8 Winners

3rd Place - Grace Barbour of Dexter

2nd Place - Finley Watkins of Bernie

1st Place - Jude Lawrence of Puxico

2023 Stoddard County Scholastic Meet General Achievement Grade 6 Winners

3rd Place - Ashtin Hicks of Bernie

2nd Place - Liam Luttrull of Dexter

1st Place - Aaliyah Brown of Woodland