Earlier today (Monday, Aug. 10), Mars Area School District, distributed an e-mail inviting parents/guardians to sign up for the Stopfinder Parent Engagement App, which provides access to accurate, up-to-date information regarding your child’s school bus schedule.

ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS ARE ASKED TO PLEASE CHECK YOUR E-MAIL FOR THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Note: Any parents/guardians, who already have a Stopfinder account, will not receive an e-mail invitation.

In addition, please note the following:

1. You will have seven (7) days from your receipt of the invitation to sign up for the Stopfinder App. Parents/guardians, who do not receive and/or complete the steps outlined in the invitation message, will not be able to access your child’s information through the Stopfinder App.
   
   
2. The e-mail invitations were distributed directly through Stopfinder, and will list “[email protected]” in the “From” field.

• • If you cannot immediately locate the message in your Inbox, please check your SPAM, Junk Mail or other such folders.
  • If, for any reason, you are still unable to locate the e-mail invitation, contact your child’s school building to verify that the contact information that the District has on file for you is correct.

3. The e-mail invitation was only sent to the e-mail address of each student’s “primary” parent/guardian, as listed in the Skyward Family Access Portal. Within Stopfinder, each student’s school bus stop may only be associated with only one (1) e-mail address; therefore, the system defaults to the e-mail address listed for the “primary” parent/guardian. Within the app, each “primary” parent/guardian has the ability to share a student’s transportation information with other parents/guardians and/or family members. (Directions for doing so are available approximately one (1) minute into the Stopfinder tutorial video, available online at https://www.marsk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=794181&type=d&pREC_ID=2297983). 
   
   
4. Once you have signed up for Stopfinder, the app can be downloaded for free via the App Store or Google Play.
   
   
5. The Stopfinder App includes a messaging feature that enables the District to communicate with parents/guardians directly in the event of a bus delay or other situation that requires your immediate attention. Parents/guardians may also choose to set up GeoAlerts, which will notify you when your child’s school bus has arrived at or departed from any location along his/her bus route.

Note: When using the Stopfinder, the app, please be aware that some information may take several seconds to load. If the information does not load in a timely manner, you may need to refresh the app. If the issue persists, please contact the Transportation Office.

The District encourages all parents/guardians to use of the Stopfinder App; however, any specific transportation concerns or questions may be addressed to the Mars Area School District Transportation Office directly at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Christina Smith
Director of Transportation
Mars Area School District