“This is going to be a game changer for our operations,” Managing Director of Transportation Jerad Castor said.
The IDs were originally included in the district’s November 2018 bond to be used in school cafeterias, libraries and on buses. Buses were specifically mentioned in the bond as the district works to implement tracking software for increased school safety.
The framework
Corbell and Riddle elementary schools were the first campuses to introduce the new student IDs in 2022. The next six campuses being added to the initiative in 2023-24 are:
- Wortham Intermediate School
- Clark Middle School
- Cobb Middle School
- Nelson Middle School
- Independence High School
- Wakeland High School
Why it matters
One of the most important features of the student IDs is how it relates to the safety of FISD students on their daily commutes.
Buses servicing the eight campuses using ID cards will have a tablet and scanner for students to tap their ID onto that will instantly pull up their information for the driver. Those without IDs will only be let on the bus after verifying their name so the driver can look it up manually.
“This is a great way for our drivers to get to know the students' names and ensure these students are getting on the correct bus,” Castor said.
The tablets also function as a navigation tool by saving the district’s hundreds of daily bus routes, Castor said. It can also help drivers with their daily check of the bus and take photos of any issues requiring a replacement bus.
“This is an additional layer of safety as well because the tablet is going to cover everything that that driver needs to know to make sure that that bus is safe to go on the road,” Castor said.
In the event of an emergency triggering a school evacuation, the new bus system can be a way to verify the exact location of each student whether they are dropped off near their home or at a reunification site.
“Some of our buses hold up to 71 students,” Castor said. “The way this was done before, to track attendance, was by paper.”
An app for parents to easily track the location of the bus and see notifications of when and where their child got on or off the bus every day is slated to be released before the end of the 2023-24 school year, Castor said.
“In the unfortunate event of an evacuation, time is extremely costly,” Castor said. “We want to make sure that we are very quick and efficient in order to be as safe as possible.”
What else?
Giving students IDs in cafeterias and libraries will also increase efficiency for both students and staff by streamlining the current system, Castor said. In cafeterias, students typically either tell staff their name or punch in their ID number when they go to buy their food.
“Think about a kindergarten or first grader that's trying to either tell the cafeteria worker their name and they may not know how to spell it or [staff] may not hear them correctly,” Castor said.
Before introducing the cards, it would take students at one school researched by the district 12 minutes to get through the lunch line, Castor said. After the ID cards were introduced, it dropped to 6 minutes.
“We're able to cut time 50%,” Castor said.
The ID cards allow students to easily scan their card and instantly pull up their account—which includes their name, photo, a list of allergies and their payment information—to move them quickly through the line and on to eat.
“This is just an easy, very fast way for No. 1, the student to access their account and then No. 2, for the cafeteria worker to identify that it's actually that student,” Castor said.
Some students may punch in their student ID incorrectly and accidentally access the wrong account, Castor said.
Going forward
Feedback on the student IDs has been overall supportive from both principals and parents, Castor said.
There are ongoing discussions on whether or not to charge students a $5 fee to replace a lost ID, Castor said. As of July, there is no cost for the new cards, and the entire process to print it takes less than three minutes.
“The whole purpose of the student ID is to help the district increase efficiencies and multiple layers of the district,” Castor said. “Everything this card does is to ... provide safety layers for our district and our students, staff and community.”
