I feel like I am going to come off as a hater, after reading please let me know what you think.
From the Times Union:
Vitti said that with more accurate records of ridership, the district can make bus routes more efficient and save money.
From the Times Union:
Vitti said that with more accurate records of ridership, the district can make bus routes more efficient and save money.
When students get to school, they’ll scan their ID cards to register attendance or tardiness. And when middle and high school students go to each class, they’ll scan the cards to gain entrance for attendance.
It’ll become more obvious more quickly which students are ditching classes, Vitti said.
Students will also use the ID cards to pay for lunch, check out text books or computers, register attendance at school activities and assemblies and even note when they leave mid-class for some reason.
Besides students, teachers and volunteers who regularly come in contact with students also will carry ID cards. The cards will record when they come and go from the building and where they go while there.
This system could save the district about $1 million over five years, Vitti said, but first the district must spend $1.1 million to set it up. Each subsequent year it will cost $123,500, for a total of nearly $1.6 million over five years.
The old ID systems cost Duval schools $2.6 million over five years.
Sounds awesome right!!!! It's cheaper, will save money and help parents better monitor their kids!
Here is the thing, several years ago when I worked at Ed White High school we instituted new IDs that kids were supposed to wear to class. Suddenly i went from teacher to the ID police as kids would wear them sporadically. I would send kids out to get new ones which they were charged five bucks for. It became a period by period battle, that I and most of the teachers I knew hated. Withing a few months many of us had given up. It just wasn't worth it.
Also are their going to be penalties for students who frequently lose, forget or just refuse to wear the Ids?
Now I am six years out of a comprehensive high school and kids at my school don't wear them, except to lunch for fear of them losing them. Things may have changed but why do I suspect not much.
Also I am an adult, I get it though that since I am a teacher the super and his admin don't trust me to do my job, but I don't want to wear a GPS so Big Brother can monitor my every move.
I am just going to throw this out there too. 123 K a year to make probably two hundred thousand badges, upkeep on the equipment, and staff to monitor the data, sees like a deal to good to be true. Unfortunately deals like that often are.
To me this sounds like a great idea that somebody who isn't the classroom might like.
Will someone let the Super know that the current ids are already used for checking out textbooks, library books and equipment both at schools AND public libraries, as well as purchasing lunches. Why do we need to pay to put scanners on EVERY classroom in the county when we already enter attendance into a system that is accessible by everyone in the school? How will new ids track attendance better than the program he spent millions on 3 years ago????? Just another waste. How about someone let him know what really needs funding, like new buildings instead of buying nasty portables (yes, many of the ones in use came from FEMA after hurricane Katrina so think on that....), or paying for more Paras so there are more hands in deck in all schools?? There is no amount of technology that can ever replace the value of human contact. The simple act of talking to a child, being the person that offers words of encouragement, or having a child know someone cares is more valuable than any scanner. On the plus side, you don't have to pay benefits for a scanner, or deal with union complaints when they quit working. You just replace them like he wishes he could replace us with mindless cogs.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know where your child is at all times then ask him and raise a child who believes in telling the truth. You have to raise your children to be respectful and want a good education then you won't have to worry about them cutting classes. This also makes me wonder who has a friend who owns the badge making company or who has stock in the badge making company
ReplyDeleteGood points. Do we have a problem in every school. How sad! Maybe the engagement and interest in school has to do with curriculum and lack of support services. Maybe the millions could be spent on fixing the problem instead of monitoring the problem. I am reminded of those commercials where the dentist says oh I don't fix the cavity I only monitor the cavity. P
ReplyDeleteTruant students do not wear ID badges, so who is this for? Also, many of the parents at Ed White do not make their child wear the Ed White uniform or the ID badge. I guess it is obvious who will benefit on this as well. If anything, some kind of way, it will be another thing that teachers will have to track in addition to taking attendance. I agree, this is a waste!!!
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