How to Upgrade Your School Management System and When

It's hard to believe that just a few decades ago, all school record-keeping was done by hand.  Today, a good database-driven school management system is absolutely a necessity.  Between the proliferation of helicopter parenting and ever-increasing societal fears for our youth, you basically cannot lose track of a student for more than a few minutes.

One of the simplest ways you can update your school management system to expand its functionality and offer new benefits is to invest in a better bus management system combined with a student tracking system.   Besides making your bus routing more efficient, new bus management software carries significant side benefits that can make your student record-keeping better than ever.

With better bus tracking software, you can keep tabs on your students literally from stop to stop.  From the moment they get on the bus in the morning, to when they get back off the bus in the evening, you can always know where they are.

Not sure the time is right?  Here are a few signs it may be time to make some changes to your school management system.

Why Your School Management System Needs Stop-to-Stop Record Keeping

•   You're having trouble meeting record-keeping requirements.  Qualifying for state funding, of course, requires a nonstop stream of paperwork and record keeping.  Enhancing your school management system with student tracking means you will always know whenever a student arrives at your school or departs, with a secure data trail behind it.

•   Truancy is a problem.  Of course, you won't be getting your state funds if your students aren't in the classroom.  Through student tracking, you can easily find wayward students and bring them in for counting.  When one San Antonio school introduced RFID tracking, they boosted their attendance rates by about 2% simply through being able to track down truant students.

•   You're swamped with calls from parents.  My mother was a teacher, and I've taught in the past.  If there's one constant, it's that if a child is more than a few minutes late arriving, you're going to get concerned calls from parents.  However, with GPS and RFID tracking, you can handle these worries quickly and easily.   You'll have the data at your fingertips to give them exactly the information they need.

•   Fire Drills are a drain on your resources.  Yes, we all hate them, students and teachers alike.  They might be necessary, but they break up the day and can turn into a logistical nightmare.  Once again, a simple student tracking system makes it easy to verify that all students are out of the building and, twenty minutes later, that they're all back in.   Keep the disruption to a minimum, and stop losing time looking for kids who've wandered off.

•   There are worrisome areas in town you want to avoid.  Most towns have a street, intersection, or neighborhood you don't want children going near.  Current bus route software can selectively avoid creating stops which are close to "threat zones."  There's no need to risk exposing children to drug dealers or registered sex offenders if you can easily route around them instead.

•   Field trips are too logistically demanding.  A school management system enhanced with bus and student tracking helps here too.  From creating the initial student sheets of those participating to ensuring every student gets on and off the bus at the right time, you can streamline field trips like never before.

With states becoming more tight with their school funding, you need every advantage you can when managing your students.  If you keep better track of them, keep them safer, and -most importantly- ensure they're in their seats when the bell rings, you're going to save money while ensuring your state funds continue to flow.

What do you think? What features would you most like to see added to your current school management system? Let us know in the comments below!