Anaheim School Hands Out GPS Devices to Kids who Skip School
Anaheim School Hands Out GPS Devices to Kids who Skip School
Posted 02/22/2011 at 5:52am
| by Paul Lilly
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Calling in sick to school and then heading to the arcade is getting to be more difficult than ever. First, there aren't many arcades left to begin to with. But even more tricky is the use of GPS tracking. According to an OC Register report, the Anaheim Union High School District is the first in California to pilot the use of GPS to track students who have a history of skipping class.
Any seventh- or eight-grade student with four unexcused absences will be required to carry a GPS device roughly the size of a cell phone. Every morning starts off with the teenager receiving a phone call to remind them they need to get to school on time. That's just the beginning. Five times a day, they're required to enter a code that tracks their location. These would take place when they leave for school, when they arrive, at lunch, when they leave school for the day, and one final time at 8PM.
"The idea is for this not to feel like a punishment but an intervention to help them develop better habits and get to school," said Miller Sylvan, regional director for AIM Truancy Solutions.
This isn't the first time such a system has been put in place. GPS tracking has also been used in places like San Antonio and Baltimore with promising results. While using the device, attendance went up from 77 percent to 95 percent among teens who had been chronically late or absent.
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someuid
February 22, 2011 at 12:57pm
Actually, I'd rather see this done for every kid. And for every kid who skips school, my property taxes go down a few cents and the responsible parents of these school-skipping kids have their property taxes go up.
dedgar
February 22, 2011 at 8:42am
So, let's see now. The school just gave me a GPS so they can track me when I'm skipping school. Should I take it with me or should I leave it at home when I skip school?????
Yup that's a hard one to figure out.
Konvics
February 22, 2011 at 12:33pm
If what your saying is that its easy to leave it at home and still skip school your wrong.
"Five times a day, they're required to enter a code that tracks their location".
So.. if they dont enter the code then they are skipping.
schwit
February 22, 2011 at 7:15am
Technology can not fix a parental problem. Also, kids will find a way around tracking devices.
mls067
February 22, 2011 at 12:20pm
I was thinking the same thing. This isn't a schools responsability, it's the partents. Some of the movies and books I have seen and read are coming true more and more!
iwrk4dedpr
February 22, 2011 at 6:07am
Hmmmm one more step to the Nanny State?
I've a better idea. Most parents all ready buy their kids phones. Most phones now comming with some form of GPS. Why, I ask you, in order to use the GPS function you must first buy more data plan??? Why not allow parents a way to go online... Ping their son's or daughter's phone and it returns with the GPS coordinates. Let me type that into my maps.google myself.
Don't want students on their phones @school... Use the GPS to disconnect calling functions in and out.... Allow there to be a code and that code sets the phone numbers allowed to be called at school.
We have this technology but to use it you must pay a fee. It would, in a simple analogy, buying a DVD player but in order to use the fast forward or reverse buttons you had to pay a subscription. I want a phone where I can ping the dang thing and if it has GPS... send the coordinates back to me.
I'd give my kids one of these and then... I'd know where they were at all times when they weren't in my sight. Kids would be more prone to doing the right thing if they knew how easy it was to get caught.
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