Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — July 10, 2025 — Jonesboro Public Schools is making it easier to keep up with how your children get to school, thanks to a new app.

The district announced July 8 through a Facebook post that it is now using Stopfinder, a way for parents to stay connected with any updates regarding student transportation.

Director of Transportation Mickey Long said the app is a communication piece between the district and parents, making it easier to know whether there are changes in bus stop locations or bus delays.

“If we have any kind of delays in the routing process, which happens sometimes, be it mechanical or weather-related, those parents that are signed up, we can call [them] or we can send out a message that says ‘Hey, listen, the bus is running 15 minutes late. Please don’t leave the stop,'” he said.

Long said the updates come within minutes of an issue occurring, and they work as quickly as possible to get the information to parents in a timely manner.

The district has been working on implementing the app since 2024, with Long calling it a “learning curve.” Assistant Director Stephanie Miller added that during the year, they were mostly focused on getting parents signed up, emphasizing the importance of having a current email address, as the parent wouldn’t get a sign-up link without one.

“All they have to do is create a password, and their students’ information comes up,” Miller said. “If they’ve got one at high school and one at kindergarten, both of those kids will show up on one screen, so they can see all their kids’ information on one screen.”

So far, Miller said 1,300 students have been signed up for the app, with the school district having 2,900 to 3,000 students who use buses. She hopes to get another 1,000 for this year.

If a student is new to the district and begins classes at the start or middle of the semester, Miller said all the schools have a spreadsheet for bus requests. Each request has the name and address of the students, as well as the parents’ name and email.

There is no deadline to apply for the app, however, Long said with the department rolling out all of the route information and giving it to bus drivers, the sooner the better.

“Ideally, we’d loved to have it all by Aug. 1. However, we make it work. Whenever they give it to us, we’re just happy to get it,” he said.

Long said with the app in place, he hopes its curbs parental anxiety.

“This is something that we’ve never had, we hope that gives them a little level of comfort. We’re doing everything we can to protect their child and keep them posted on anything or any changes that may happen while they’re in our car,” Long said.

To sign up for the app, click here.