School Districts Turning to GPS Systems To Monitor Students

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School Districts Turning to GPS Systems To Monitor Students

Posted On : Mar-15-2011 | seen (848) times | Article Word Count : 660 |

The Anaheim Union High School District in California takes on a pilot program using GPS tracking system to put a stop to chronic truancy.

The Anaheim Union High School District is reportedly the first school district in California to test GPS tracking system technology as part of a six-week pilot program to reduce student truancy, according to school officials, writes the Orange County Register (OCR).

Other schools across the country have also begun using GPS to monitor so-called chronic truants, but this is the first in this district, plagued by gang-related violence and other cultural issues that make it one of the most rough-and-tumble districts in the state.

The OCR says student GPS tracking systems have been used to wide success in other cities, such as San Antonio and Baltimore. San Francisco also introduced a similar system earlier this month. Schools where the GPS tracking technology has been implemented, according to the OCR, report that average attendance among what would normally be considered “the chronically truant,” jumped from 77 percent to 95 percent during the six-week program.

Students who are reported to have an extraordinary high level of unexcused absences, according to the report, will be assigned a GPS tracking device that they must now carry on them at all times during school days. The GPS tracking system is small, about the size of a deck of cards, but, in an effort to address negative views on strapping the GPS tracking device on a student’s ankle it is instead put on the student’s waste. But district officials want the public to be clear: the GPS tracking program is all about teaching the students about responsibility, and is not intended to be interpreted as a form of punishment.

Here is how the student GPS tracking program basically works. Each morning on schooldays, the student will get an automated phone call reminding them that they need to get to school on time. Then, five times a day, the students are required to enter a code that tracks their locations – as they leave for school, when they arrive at school, at lunchtime, when they leave school and at 8 p.m. that same evening. The students are also assigned an adult coach who calls them at least three times a week to see how they are doing and help them find effective ways to make sure they get to class on time.

The student GPS tracking devices cost $300-$400 each. Overall, the six-week program costs about $8 per day for each student, or $18,000. The program is being paid for by a California state grant. According to the article, the student GPS tracking system is hopefully going to save lives by keeping kids out of juvenile halls or continuing education programs, and, perhaps most importantly, away from the gang life. The article states that, because the schools lose roughly $35 per day for each absent student, the program can pay for itself if more if students return to class consistently, according to Miller Sylvan, the Regional Director of AIM Truancy Solutions.

Students who routinely skip school are putting themselves and their entire families at risk. For starters, if they are not n class, they are likely out on the streets, and that makes them prime candidates for joining gangs, according to police, the OCR suggests. Gangs often replace family and attract kids who feel like they’ve go no place where they belong. But it’s not that simple: Police Investigator Armando Pardo reminded parents that letting kids skip school without a valid reason is, in fact, a crime. Many parents don’t believe their kids are going to get into serious trouble if they ditch, and most importantly, they don’t know they, too, can be fined and held legally responsible for chronic absences.

According to the OCR story, if the District Attorney chooses to prosecute, truant students could be sentenced to juvenile hall and parents could face up to a $2,000 fine, Pardo said.

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<h1>School Districts Turning to GPS Systems To Monitor Students</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_James Cooper.aspx'>James Cooper</a> The Anaheim Union High School District is reportedly the first school district in California to test GPS tracking system technology as part of a six-week pilot program to reduce student truancy, according to school officials, writes the Orange County Register (OCR).

Other schools across the country have also begun using GPS to monitor so-called chronic truants, but this is the first in this district, plagued by gang-related violence and other cultural issues that make it one of the most rough-and-tumble districts in the state.

The OCR says student GPS tracking systems have been used to wide success in other cities, such as San Antonio and Baltimore.  San Francisco also introduced a similar system earlier this month.  Schools where the GPS tracking technology has been implemented, according to the OCR, report that average attendance among  what would normally be considered “the chronically truant,”  jumped from 77 percent to 95 percent during the six-week program.

Students who are reported to have an extraordinary high level of unexcused absences, according to the report, will be assigned a GPS tracking device that they must now carry on them at all times during school days.  The GPS tracking system is small, about the size of a deck of cards, but, in an effort to address negative views on strapping the GPS tracking device on a student’s ankle it is instead put on the student’s waste.  But district officials want the public to be clear: the GPS tracking program is all about teaching the students about responsibility, and is not intended to be interpreted as a form of punishment.

Here is how the student GPS tracking program basically works. Each morning on schooldays, the student will get an automated phone call reminding them that they need to get to school on time. Then, five times a day, the students are required to enter a code that tracks their locations – as they leave for school, when they arrive at school, at lunchtime, when they leave school and at 8 p.m. that same evening.  The students are also assigned an adult coach who calls them at least three times a week to see how they are doing and help them find effective ways to make sure they get to class on time.

The student GPS tracking devices cost $300-$400 each. Overall, the six-week program costs about $8 per day for each student, or $18,000.  The program is being paid for by a California state grant.  According to the article, the student GPS tracking system is hopefully going to save lives by keeping kids out of juvenile halls or continuing education programs, and, perhaps most importantly, away from the gang life. The article states that, because the schools lose roughly $35 per day for each absent student, the program can pay for itself if more if students return to class consistently, according to Miller Sylvan, the Regional Director of AIM Truancy Solutions.

Students who routinely skip school are putting themselves and their entire families at risk. For starters, if they are not n class, they are likely out on the streets, and that makes them prime candidates for joining gangs, according to police, the OCR suggests. Gangs often replace family and attract kids who feel like they’ve go no place where they belong. But it’s not that simple: Police Investigator Armando Pardo reminded parents that letting kids skip school without a valid reason is, in fact, a crime. Many parents don’t believe their kids are going to get into serious trouble if they ditch, and most importantly, they don’t know they, too, can be fined and held legally responsible for chronic absences. 
 
According to the OCR story, if the District Attorney chooses to prosecute, truant students could be sentenced to juvenile hall and parents could face up to a $2,000 fine, Pardo said.About the Author: For more details please visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.greenpathalarm.com/">greenpathalarm.com</a> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_School-Districts-Turning-to-GPS-Systems-To-Monitor-Students_56001.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_School Districts Turning to GPS Systems To Monitor Students_56001.aspx</a>

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