Dallas School System Using New GPS/Wireless Device to Track Truant Students

Pilot Program Enabled Former Gang Member to Now Have 100% Attendance Record

DALLAS, TX -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/04/08 -- A Dallas high school is using a new GPS/wireless device in a pilot program to track truant students who are under court order to attend class, with some dramatic results to date.

The pocket-sized GuardTrax units combine cell phone and GPS tracking technology that major security guard companies use to monitor security personnel in real-time via the Internet.

At Bryan Adams High School, chronically truant teenagers are enrolled in the program under order of a Dallas County Truancy Court and administered by the Attendance Improvement Management (AIM) program being developed by some individual community citizens. A year ago, truant teenagers wore electronic ankle bracelets -- often used on criminals, as part of another pilot study.

Instead, students using the GuardTrax GPS units are required to "key in" a code indicating they have arrived at school and returned home ensuring they go to class and observe nightly curfews. At any time, a supervisor can detect a student's location in real-time using Internet tracking software. A GPS "geofence" has been programmed around the campus so when students arrive, they trigger the GuardTrax system to report, "I'm here and everything is okay." If students don't show up, officials can pinpoint their location or call their device to coach them about the importance of complying with their court orders.

"Compared to the previous program, this GuardTrax initiative is working great," explains Paul Pottinger, co-director of the AIM program at Bryan Adams High School. "We wanted a GPS unit that offered cell phone capability so we wouldn't have to rely solely upon ankle-bracelet tracking. Besides, GuardTrax costs about half as much as electronic monitoring with ankle bracelets. It will keep kids in school because they know they're being monitored and can stay in phone contact, which they appreciate. The goal is to give them support that they may not get at home, help them to graduate, and steer them away from a life of crime, which too many fall into if they drop out of high school."

Dallas was recently listed as having the seventh-worst graduation rate among school systems in the 50 largest urban cities according to America's Promise Alliance, a Washington non-profit organization. "These anti-truancy measures are imperative for these students to attend school and have a chance to succeed. Although the ankle bracelets showed positive results, they were disliked by some community members who felt they were 'criminalizing' the teens," said Pottinger.

According to one of the students involved in the program, a former gang member Ricardo Pacheco, 18, "It is now easier to come to school each day, stay out of the streets and be home every night." He is about to become the first male from his father's side of the family to graduate.

"The GuardTrax device is the ideal solution to keep track of these troubled students," said David Leis, chief marketing officer at NovaTracker, the GuardTrax manufacturer. "The real-time tracking capabilities will ensure their constant guard while remaining 'non-offensive' and school administrators can instead focus on tutoring and helping the students get back on track."

Plans are to roll out the program to other schools in the fall 2008 semester, which will impact 600-800 truants who will carry the devices. "Schools are burdened with meeting stringent academic requirements due to 'No Child Left Behind' and if these students aren't present, they can't learn and they bring down the state testing scores," Pottinger explains. "The AIM program seems to be helping these chronic truants attend class regularly with the support and coaching that they don't often get at home."

About AIM

The Attendance Improvement Management (AIM) program helps chronic truants who are under the jurisdiction of a court or Justice of the Peace to attend school every day, observe court-ordered curfew, stay off the streets at night and get back on track to high school graduation. The AIM program was created by Paul S. Pottinger, Ph.D., CEO of CJSolutions, LLC and Co-Director of AIM. The program was first implemented in 2005 by AIM Co-Director Shelton Stogner, at the time Director of The Dallas Challenge Truancy Enforcement Center (TEC) in Dallas, TX. For more information, please visit http://www.cjsolutions.org.

About NovaTracker

NovaTracker is a global provider of tracking and communication products that are used in a range of industries and applications: security, fleet, service, asset monitoring, personnel, shipping, transportation, dispatch and delivery, cargo and heavy equipment.

Headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey, NovaTracker has developed proprietary and highly programmable technology used in the world's most intelligent GPS and wireless tracking products and solutions. The company was founded in 2003 and has received funding from Columbus Nova, a New York global private equity firm. For more information, please visit http://www.novatracker.com.

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Contact: Andrew Lavin/Dana Govern A. Lavin Communications 212-290-9540 alc@alavin.com

2008-06-04 07:04:04 0376916 MARKETWIRE