Salem Public Schools, City of Salem, AAA Join Forces to Highlight Back-to-School Safety
SALEM (Sept. 13, 2024) – Salem Public Schools has partnered with the City of Salem and AAA Northeast to emphasize school transportation safety and highlight several new initiatives at a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 17 (9:30 a.m.) at the entrance of the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School.
The event will feature several speakers representing AAA Northeast, the City of Salem and Salem Public Schools. Also expected to appear are local elected leaders, representatives from North Reading Transportation (bus/transportation provider of SPS), and Bus Patrol, with which SPS recently partnered to enhance the safe transport of students.
Each September, AAA Northeast chooses a location to promote its ‘Schools In, Drive Safely’ initiative, the purpose of which to reduce the number of child injuries and fatalities from auto accidents.
This year, AAA and the City of Salem chose SPS for its commitment to student transportation safety partnerships with the following entities:
- Bus Patrol, which provides and installs stop-arm cameras on buses to record errant drivers illegally passing during the drop-off and pick-up of students;
- Wayfinder, a navigation app with radio frequency identification (RFID) cards to enable the tracking of students boarding and exiting buses; and
- Stopfinder, a GPS tracking app that allows parents and caregivers to follow their child’s bus in real-time.
Consistent with the District’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan, the transportation enhancements SPS has adopted underscore the Plan’s core values of centering belonging and strengthening its foundation.
About AAA Northeast
AAA Northeast is a not-for-profit auto club with offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York, providing more than 6.5 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance and auto-related services.
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.
