Cedar introduces Smartpass system for students

Cedar Shoals has begun to roll out a virtual pass system for students to improve attendance and reduce lost instructional time.  This system has been in preparation since February.

“Teachers were trained on the system in February.  We did a soft rollout the following week and started implementing the third week of February,” Cedar Shoals Principal Dr. Makeba Clark said.

This system, called Smartpass, uses virtual queues, attendance records and timers to keep track of students and ensure they are not skipping class.  The system does not use any GPS tracking, allowing for student privacy while still monitoring students.  Two passes are allowed everyday, except during the first and last 15 minutes of class and third period.

English teacher Cassie Page likes the system for the safety it provides.

“Schoolwide, we know who is in the hall and who should be in the hall, so I think it’s going to help prevent a lot of unsafe issues from happening. If we know where students are and where they should be, we can send them to the right place,” Page said.

Sophomore Abigail Cates thinks the system has some flaws that make it less effective than it could be.

“I think it’s a good idea, having a system like that. I just think the way that it was set up, like the two pass limit, I just don’t think that’s a good idea. I think they need to fix that, make it more reasonable and more thought out,” Cates said.

Hannah Doolittle, English department, feels like some of these complaints are to be expected.

“I’ve heard a lot of complaining, but I think they’re just complaining because it’s a new thing and not because they actually don’t like it. I know that they don’t like that it will put them in line and that it only allows a certain number of passes a week, but I do think students can appreciate the fact that the whole idea behind the passes is to ensure a quiet and safe school environment,” Doolittle said.