Parents in the Wright City R-II School District can rest a little easier next time there is a winter storm or their child is running late in the morning.The district unveiled a new app called the Durham Bus Tracker last week as the latest in its effort to stay better connected with the community.“We were looking for ways to get more transparent about where buses are so we can give out more information,” said Superintendent David Buck. “The bus garage has two phones and two people manning it, if people need to call in it can take a long time to get a response.”The Durham Bus Tracker will allow parents to track the location and approximate arrival time of their child’s bus when it’s en route. Buck said he believes this will be particularly helpful during inclement weather or when there are delays.“In a weather event where everybody is going slower, you can look and see the buses are still coming,” said Buck. “Or if their kids are at the bus stop waiting, wondering if they missed the bus, they can look to see whether it has passed or not.”Each parent who has a child in the district received a unique ID for their child who rides the bus,” explained Buck.While the Durham Bus Tracker can track the location of the bus the child is assigned to, it is not designed to track the child and cannot indicate whether or not the student boarded the bus. Buck says the Durham Bus Tracker, which is utilized now, was part of the district’s outreach to keep parents better informed.“We approached Durham and said we’d like to look into this,” said Buck. “We practiced with it, and it has proven to be accurate.”Wright City R-II became the first district in the state of Missouri to use this free service.“We’ve continued to try to grow our use of social media,” said Buck.“Technology is a great way to reach people in our district and keep them informed.”R-II has also reinstated the district-wide mailing of its school newspaper, the Wright City Connection, five times a year to all stakeholders in the district.Bus Routes