It's summer and the courtyard at Appomattox County High School is empty. During the school year, this space is full of students. But before the bell rings and the teacher takes attendance, there's no way to tell who's here and who isn't.
"That's probably one of the biggest holes in most of our school divisions today - that time lapse from the minute the student arrives to the minute they sit in that first period class," said Brette Arbogast, Director of Technology for Appomattox County Public Schools.
That gap is about to close. Starting this year Appomattox County is using a new computer system. Every student at the high school will get an ID card. That card will have to be swiped every time a student enters or leaves the school building.
"The biggest reason for this is communication between parents, faculty, and administration," said Arbogast.
One aspect of the card system could be especially useful for parents. If a child shows up late for school or tries to leave early, Mom and Dad will know right away. They'll get a text on their cell phone or a message sent through e-mail.
"It's accountability in its most simplistic form," said Arbogast.
There's a security aspect too. Not only does the card system keep track of students - Without a card trespassers shouldn't be able to gain access to any part of the school.
"Once the students check in, they're in the school, they're in our care, they're safe," said Arbogast.
Appomattox has been testing the new system for a few months, so students have already had a chance to get used to swiping in and out. In addition to Appomattox County High School, students taking dual-enrollment classes at CVCC's Appomattox campus will also use the card swipe system.
The program cost the county $5,000, but Appomattox is getting a discount and saving money by using existing computers to run the software.
According to Swipe K-12, the company that created the card-swipe technology, Appomattox is the first school division in Virginia to use the program.
