The start of the school year brings many firsts to students, faculty and staff. Usually, the firsts are associated with new relationships and learning opportunities, but in Litchfield Elementary School District, students will experience their first rides on new smart buses.

The 50 LESD school buses equipped with Transportant technology are the first in the state to offer transportation supervisors and school administrators an instant view of student behavior on buses to and from school.

“Having a real-time view enhances driver training and student safety,” said Jennifer Tassin, LESD director of transportation, “with the previous system, it could take more than a day to get video footage to help guide students and families with incident information. Now, we can manage student behavior on the bus as we do in the classroom.”

The new technology allows for precise retrieval of recorded interactions on the bus, a digital student check-in-and-out system and GPS directions, replacing delayed information, paper rider lists and maps.

Tassin and LESD officials plan to use the live cameras and audio systems for incident alerts and to give details on where every school bus is, who is on the bus and what is happening. The details can be viewed through a school administrator or parent and guardian app.

Visit lesd79.org for more information.