How School Management Systems Operate

The ways to harness technology to make your school run more smoothly and more safely are expanding quickly.  Just a couple decades ago, it was still standard to see school districts doing most of their record-keeping by hand:  drawing bus routes with lines on a map, doing attendance on paper, and still keeping class scores in physical grade books.

Today, most of these things have been taken over by computers, to varying degrees.  However, we think that a lot of districts still don't understand just how much they can achieve with a modern school management system.  Through a combination of better bus scheduling and non-intrusive student tracking, your district can run much more smoothly.

Let's take a look at how such a school management system could help you through a normal day!  

Life With A Modern School Management System

Students don't realize this but, of course, the school day really begins around 4 or 5 in the morning, when the transportation officials make ready for the day's bus routes.  Thanks to robust route planning software, you recently optimized your routes, cutting roughly fifteen minutes off each route.  It's not much, but every little bit helps keep your fuel costs down, and lets your drivers get that much more sleep.

As the drivers begin to check in and start up their buses, your GPS tracking system comes alive as well.  Simple PC software allows you to see where every bus is on its route at all times.  As they begin to depart on their routes, you can see them at every step of the way.  Should a bus deviate from its course, stop unexpectedly, or get behind schedule, you'll be notified.

But, nothing goes wrong this morning.  As students start getting picked up, the RFID chip in their student ID cards register with the bus.  You get a student-by-student list of who has been collected.  Before they even reach school, you'll have a good idea of the day's attendance.  Similarly, as they arrive at school and depart the bus, that is recorded as well.

Ten minutes after the start of the school day, you get a call.   A particular student was expected in class, but had not arrived.  A quick check of the student's schedule - integrated into your school management system - tells you where they were supposed to be.  The RFID scanner verifies they aren't there and, instead, quickly locates them behind the gym, cutting class.

The student is collected and deposited in class, without any hassle or "lost child" fears. 

As the day wears on, you get the inevitable calls from parents with their own scheduling changes.  A child that doesn't usually ride the bus may have to ride it today.  These changes can be noted in your school management system, keeping the bus schedules constantly updated with the most accurate head counts.

So, when it's time to load up the buses for the day, everyone still gets where they're supposed to.  Bus 5 has to be delayed for ten minutes because the student whose schedule changed couldn't find it, but the RFID system alerted the bus not to leave despite the unexpected change. 

Even with this delay, you can still track its progress.  If any parents call wondering why it's late, you can give them an exact ETA.  The data is all there, allowing you to quickly alleviate their fears and get back to work.

Finally, at the end of the day, all the data from the day's rides joins your long-term tracking.  The system might spot a bus showing abnormally low gas mileage, alerting you to have it serviced before the problem becomes more costly. 

A School Management System Makes School Life Easier

As you can see, a combination of GPS and RFID tracking keeps your students safer, simplifies school management, and saves you money.    A new school management system is a great vehicle for improving your school.   

What do you think? What other benefits are there to school management systems? Let us know in the comments below!