by Linda L. Briggs

Security cameras were already in place at Ysleta ISD schools when the handhelds and ScheduleFinder were implemented. At the suggestion of CDW-G, a vendor-neutral supplier of IT solutions to governments and educators, the district selected PDAs that use the same sort of memory cards as the cameras. Using the same cards across devices means a card can be removed from a security camera and inserted in a PDA for quick replay of an event.

The PDAs, largely Tungsten E’s from Palm, can network with other devices via a wireless or infrared signal. Using the ScheduleFinder software, security staff and administrators download the day’s school schedule to their handhelds each morning. Other daily updates can be transmitted as well, which comes in handy for disseminating schedule changes, special events, and information on students with special needs or behavioral problems.

Security staff “carry the handhelds 24/7,” Livermore says. “Even at home. We want them to really be comfortable with them.” Along with schedules, the devices store a wealth of additional information, including standard schoolsecurity documents and handbooks, available via Adobe Acrobat Reader. ScheduleFinder contains student rosters complete with a “reverse search” capability that allows searches by nickname, student ID number, and even a student’s assigned parking space.

Livermore says that after eliciting requests for proposals, the district chose the ScheduleFinder program, partly because it seemed to be “built around how to improve campus security and campus safety. What [Trusmart] does, it does really well.”

Cost also makes the program a good match for the district, according to Rosario Dickerson, the district’s instructional technology trainer, who is now in charge of watching over the new system. The software is based on student population and priced per year at $2 per student; maintenance is another $1 per student. Both costs are capped at 1,200 students. “It’s very cost-efficient,” Rosario says, adding that the expense is “a very small amount compared to the cost of replacing a computer lab due to vandalism.”

But as with any major change in procedures, making a system like this work requires buy-in from all the key stakeholders. “Work with campus administration closely, and the student database manager, to get them aligned,” Livermore advises. In particular, database managers “need to be some of the first people you talk to.”

He also suggests a detailed training plan that helps change how security officials and administrators work. In installing the new system at Ysleta, Livermore says, “we discovered that there was a systemic process to how administrators dealt with incidents.” No matter what the situation was, staff “brought the perpetrators back to the office,” creating delays. Convincing administrators to break that ingrained pattern, he says, can be a challenge. “Plan to do a lot of one-to-one professional development. Actually show them how to make it work.”

page 2 of 3, Courtesy of The Journal