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Schools

Osseo Area Schools Uses Facebook To Reach Parents This Winter

Osseo Area Schools plans to use Facebook to notify parents about late buses.

The is embracing social media.

The district uses Facebook and Twitter to promote its schools, but this winter the district will take it one step further and use it to notify parents about late buses.

“If one of our bigger buses is running more than ten minutes. we’ll put the bus number and the school the bus serves on Facebook so parents will know instantly,” Spokesperson for Osseo Area Schools Barb Olson said. “We were looking for a timely way to inform parents and with the growth and popularity of Facebook, it seemed like a logical fit.”

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The district runs about 200 buses that pick up about 16,000 kids. By notifying parents a bus is running late, kids won’t have to wait in the cold any longer than necessary. So far this year, with an unseasonable warm winter, the district hasn’t taken this idea for a test drive, but expect it to be a seamless form of communication for morning and afternoon buses.

“Parents can like Osseo Area School’s Facebook page and get the bus information right in their newsfeed,” Olson said. “We’re calling this year a pilot year, we’ll see how it works out this winter and go from there.”

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Parents like John Redding say it’s a great idea.

“I appreciate the district going the extra mile to inform parents about things like this,” he said. “If my kids don’t have to spend extra time standing around in the freezing cold waiting for a bus, that’s good news to me.”

While Olson says it is rare for a bus to run late, when the weather takes a turn traffic can slow a bus down or the cold can cause mechanical problems.

“As soon as our transportation staff learns about a bus running more than ten minutes late we’ll get it out on Facebook,” Olson said. “We hope it’s a fast and convenient way for everyone to stay up to date.” 

Olson stresses, Facebook will only be used for late buses and not for any other winter related changes like school cancellations or dismissals.

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