You may have heard about a new system that has been implemented at the Jr/Sr High School. If you were unable to attend the board meeting, you may be unaware of what SmartPass is or why it was implemented. SmartPass is a digital hall pass that helps our building run more efficiently and increase student safety. Students and staff alike were noticing long lines for the bathrooms and often students were not able to get into restrooms for legitimate bathroom needs. It appeared that the same students were using the restroom every hour, creating a long line or que for students that simply wanted to use the restroom and return to class. Students were having to search the building for an unoccupied restroom and were often out of class for a significant period of time-trying to find an open restroom-missing vital instruction. It was impossible for teachers to know what students had already been out of class in other periods. This allows teachers to see how frequently students are leaving class and limits students to a reasonable amount of passes.
SmartPass is a way to address issues that were being reported by staff and students alike-holding individual students accountable so that ALL students have the ability to use the restroom when needed. The intention is not to deny a responsible child a restroom pass. In fact, it is quite the opposite. This system helps to hold the students abusing the pass system accountable so that other students are not negatively impacted. It also allows students to see what restrooms in the building are open and place themselves in a que so they are not standing in the hall for an unnecessarily long period of time-waiting for the restroom to become available. Instead, they can stay in class until the restroom opens and quietly get up and use the facility. They can also see what restrooms are open at that time so they don't have to search the building.
A short video below shows how the system works. Also included is a case study that shows how the system reduced write ups by 58% in one year at one district! In addition to the above benefits, this program also allows the school to be put in "emergency mode" stopping all movement in the building and allowing administrators to see where students are at in the event of an emergency. This program was paid for by a grant from the National Guard to help increase safety and student accountability. Sand Creek Schools would like to thank the Michigan National Guard for their support of the safety of our schools.
