Baldwin County Schools Roll Out Circool Visitor Kiosks and BusRight Bus Tracking, McRae Says in Safety Update

BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Baldwin County Schools is adding new technology to keep better track of who is on its campuses and who is riding its buses. Superintendent Marty McRae outlined the changes in a Superintendent Update shared with the school community this week, describing a new visitor and check-in system called Circool, a bus-ride tracking system called BusRight, and the continuing role of OneVoice, the district’s anonymous reporting tool.

“We are continuing to make investments in the safety, security and convenience of our schools,” McRae said in the update.

Baldwin County Public Schools is one of the largest school systems in Alabama, serving students in communities from Bay Minette and Spanish Fort to Fairhope, Foley, Robertsdale and Elberta. With that many campuses, buses and visitors, keeping accurate, real-time information about where students are has become a central part of school safety planning.

OneVoice: anonymous reports about bullying and safety

McRae began by reminding families about a program that is already in place. OneVoice allows students, parents and community members to anonymously report bullying, safety concerns or other issues to school officials.

“While our OneVoice program is not new to the system, we continue to remind our students, parents and community members that it is a way to anonymously report bullying, safety concerns or other issues to school officials,” McRae said.

Students can reach OneVoice through a tile in their student portal, and parents can submit concerns through the OneVoice program as well.

Anonymous reporting tools are widely used by school districts because students often know about problems before adults do. A student who is reluctant to speak up in person about bullying, threats or a classmate in crisis may be more willing to share information when they know their name will not be attached. Getting that information to school officials quickly can give them a chance to step in before a situation escalates.

Circool: visitor kiosks and student check-in and check-out

The biggest change for parents who visit campus will be Circool, a new system the district is introducing to make school visits easier and to help schools better account for students and visitors.

Under the new system, a kiosk will be available when parents or other visitors arrive at a school. The kiosk will handle visitor management, and it will also be used for students who are checking in late or checking out early.

“We are also introducing Circool, a new system designed to make visits to our schools easier and help us better account for students and visitors on campus,” McRae said.

Circool will also play a role in emergencies. McRae said the system will provide an additional tool to help schools reunite students with their families if an emergency occurs.

“In the event of an emergency, Circool will provide an additional tool to help schools reunite students with their families,” he said.

Reunification is one of the most difficult parts of any school emergency, whether it is a severe weather event, an evacuation or a security incident. Schools need to know exactly which students are present, which adults are authorized to pick them up and who has already been released. A digital system that tracks check-ins, check-outs and visitors can give staff a more accurate picture than paper sign-in sheets when every minute counts.

The technology began rolling out across the county at the beginning of October.

An app is recommended, but not required

Some Baldwin County families may already have heard from Circool. McRae noted that parents may have received an email from the company about its app.

“You may have gotten an email from Circool regarding its app,” he said. “For efficiency, we highly recommend using the app, but it is not required.”

That means parents who prefer not to download the app can still visit campus and use the kiosk, but the district is encouraging families to sign up to make the process faster.

BusRight: see your child’s bus ride on your phone

The third piece of the update involves school buses. The district is adding a new bus technology called BusRight, which McRae said will give families “an additional layer of information and peace of mind.”

With BusRight, students will scan their badge when they get on and off a school bus. Parents will then be able to use their phones to see their child’s bus ride.

“With this system, students will scan their badge when they enter and exit school buses, allowing parents to use their phones to see their child’s bus ride,” McRae said.

For parents, that can answer some of the most common questions of the school day: Did my child get on the bus? Where is the bus now? Did my child get off at the right stop? For schools and the transportation department, ridership records can also help confirm which students were on which bus at any given time.

BusRight has already started being implemented in the county and will continue to be added school by school. McRae said families will receive more information from their individual schools as the district moves into the next phase of the rollout.

“You’ll be receiving more information from your individual school as we move forward with the next phase of the implementation process,” he said.

What parents need to know

Here is a quick summary of the three programs McRae described:

• OneVoice: Anonymous reporting of bullying, safety concerns or other issues. Students use the OneVoice tile in their student portal; parents can submit concerns through the OneVoice program.
• Circool: Kiosk-based visitor management and student check-in and check-out at schools, plus a tool to support reunification in emergencies. Rollout began in early October. The Circool app is highly recommended but not required.
• BusRight: Students scan badges when getting on and off school buses so parents can follow their child’s bus ride by phone. Being added school by school, with details coming from individual schools.

Why districts are investing in school safety technology

School systems across Alabama and the country have spent recent years looking for ways to tighten campus security without making schools feel less welcoming. Visitor management systems have become a common tool because they create a record of everyone who enters a building and help front-office staff verify that adults picking up students are authorized to do so.

Bus tracking has grown for similar reasons. With thousands of students riding buses every day in a large county, families often want more information about pickups, drop-offs and delays. A system that records when each student boards and exits can also help transportation staff respond more quickly when a parent calls with a concern.

McRae’s update frames the three programs as working together: OneVoice to surface concerns early, Circool to manage who comes and goes from schools, and BusRight to account for students during the ride to and from campus.

How families can get involved

Parents who want to make the most of the new tools can take a few simple steps:

• Watch for emails from Circool and decide whether to download the app to speed up visits and check-outs.
• Look for upcoming information from their child’s school about when BusRight will be available on that campus.
• Make sure their child knows how to find the OneVoice tile in the student portal and understands that reports can be made anonymously.
• Keep contact information and authorized pickup lists up to date with the school so that check-out and reunification systems work as intended.

Families with questions about any of the programs can contact their child’s school directly. As the rollout continues through the fall, the district says schools will share additional details about timelines and how each system will work on their individual campuses.