Published: September 2008
Memphis City Schools, the largest school system in Tennessee, has made it a priority to promote positive student
behavior and improve student attendance. However,
like most metropolitan school systems, the school district found it challenging to track tardies and
other policy violations. As a result, the school district
has deployed a mobile tracking system
that allows hall monitors and security officers to view
student records, log student infractions, and print
tardy slips on the fly.
Many of the middle and high schools in the district had problems with students loitering in hallways. Also, because the citations were handwritten, they were slow and tedious to fill out. Additionally, hall monitors and security officers didn’t have access to student records while monitoring the schools.
“Some of our goals were dealing with truants and improving attendance. We felt that we had to have some kind of way of being able to track students who walk on and off campus. Plus, with the emergency management needs, we wanted to be conscious of intruders and students who don’t belong on campus,” explained Sgt. Kenneth Pinkney, Director of Student Intervention and Behavior at Memphis City Schools.
Memphis City Schools turned to Plasco ID, one of the
world’s largest identification solution providers and a
leader in card-based technology solutions. Plasco ID
provided the school district with a state-of-the-art mobile
student tracking solution that features the Socket SoMo® 650 handheld computer and PlascoTrac software.
Plugged into the top of the handheld computer
is the Socket CF Scan Card, a small bar code scanner.
After the bell rings for class to start, hall monitors do a “hall sweep” to make sure that students are in class on time. If a tardy student is found, a hall monitor quickly scans the bar code on the student’s ID card and views the student’s file on the handheld computer. The hall monitor then logs the infraction and prints out a tardy slip using a small wireless printer. At the end of each day, the handheld computer synchronizes with the school’s central student management system.
The mobile system has helped the school district both save time and reduce the number of tardies. “The mobile system saves almost 10 to 15 minutes every time a student receives a tardy slip, because the larger the school building, the longer it takes students to get to the main office. Plus, it decreases the number of tardies because of the fact that there was an immediate consequence. There are automatic disciplinary actions built into the system,” Pinkney explained.
In just its first month of testing at five of the city’s largest middle and high schools, the number of tardies decreased by up to 15 percent.
To view the complete case study, click here.
To view a news video about the deployment, click here.