It's been shown that there a correlation between improved school attendance and higher student success rates. This issue is especially important in high needs/high risk school districts where a good education is often the gateway to a better life.
Westbury Public Schools is a suburban school district outside of New York City with a growing enrollment of approximately 5000 students and 800 staff members. It is a 98% minority district with over a 90% free and reduced lunch population and 48% ELL (English Language Learners) population.
A major challenge facing the district is a high mobility rate, with 20-25% of students transferring annually. Some students leave the district for weeks or months at a time. Therefore the district places a high priority on encouraging strong attendance for each student.
One of the ways that Westbury addressed this issue was by using technology to support the process. ScholarChip, provider of centralized and integrated School Safety and Operations Systems, has worked with Westbury Schools to implement a system that uses Passive MIFARE (contactless) Smart ID Cards.
These cards were issued to all students and staff to help improve attendance in Westbury’s high school and in this way promote student success rates across the district. Students and staff are required to use these cards for a variety of services.
With the implementation of the ID card system, the district found that student attendance and security improved noticably, while administrative processes became more streamlined.
