Northwest ISD has adopted the use of SMART tags — a high-tech way for the district and parents to keep tabs on students’ bus rides to and from school.
District parents and guardians of Northwest ISD students can follow the school buses in real time after registering in the SMART tag parent portal. The portal also allows users to set up notifications that alert them via text when the bus gets close to reaching their child’s stop.
Northwest ISD previously used a system developed by Zonar, a company headquartered in Seattle.
As explained by Anthony Tosie, the district’s executive director of communications, Northwest ISD sought alternatives to Zonar and piloted the SMART tag tool in three elementary schools for two weeks at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
The feedback received by parents and guardians was positive, and a larger rollout was initiated for the following school year.
“We appreciate the community’s voice to help us make positive decisions to improve our services,” Tosie said, according to Community Impact.
Several school districts have opted for high-tech ways to enhance campus and student security.
For instance, as previously covered by The Dallas Express, Frisco ISD equipped all of its campuses with a video doorbell system earlier this year. The district also recently expanded a tech-driven student ID pilot program.
The student IDs feature the student’s photo, name, grade, and school, as well as a barcode that can be swiped to pay for lunches in school cafeterias, check out books at school libraries, and track their movements while entering and exiting the school bus.
As for Northwest ISD students, each has been given a SMART tag, which looks like a laminated badge. It can be attached to a backpack or lanyard, making it easily accessible for scanning as students come on and off the bus.
Students’ names and photos will appear on the bus driver’s SMART tag tablet, providing another level of security by ensuring students are on the correct bus.
School districts have been pressed to reconsider their security protocols in the aftermath of the Uvalde Robb Elementary shooting in May 2022, in which 21 students and teachers were killed.
On September 1, public school campuses in Texas will be required by state law to have an armed security officer present.
Some districts, like Dallas ISD — which has seen several gun-related incidents in the past — have struggled to come into compliance ahead of the upcoming measure, as reported by The Dallas Express.