HID Global’s ID solutions increase classroom attendance and security at Dayton Public Schools in Ohio

The HID and Plasco solutions has enabled DPS to enhance campus security and safety

HID Global, a worldwide leader in secure identity solutions, recently announced that the company’s secure ID card issuance solutions, combined with solutions from Plasco ID, a leading integrator and provider of card-based ID systems, has enabled Dayton Public Schools (DPS) in Dayton, Ohio to increase classroom attendance, while enhancing campus security and safety by including new visual security elements on multipurpose ID cards.

With over 30 buildings and special centers housing approximately 15,000 students, Ohio-based DPS needed to standardise and simplify ID card creation while expediting the previously manual process of checking in tardy students. Their new solution implemented by PlascoID, includes the company’s automated student management system, PlascoTrac and HID Global’s FARGO DTC4500 card printer/encoder plus its non-technology ID cards and AsureID Enterprise card personalisation software, which is used to create customised student ID cards with high-quality photos and other visual security elements. This integrated system has achieved DPS’ goals while also enhancing the security of students and visitors.

“Now that we have sped up the time it takes to create IDs and process tardy individuals, our students are in class more and therefore have a greater chance for achievement and success,” said Richard Melson, Director of The Office of Information Technology at DPS.

“Schools want integrated solutions, and a single point of contact that can bring it all together,” said Alan Mendelson, President of Plasco ID. “DPS now has the ID badge visual security benefits, fast badge issuance at each school, and a district-wide solution for more accurate student attendance records and analysing student behaviour.”

Benefits of the new system include:

• High-volume, high-speed printing: Campus officials can now print all student ID cards within the first week of each new school term, with uniform quality, design and durability. Officials can also instantly issue individual cards for new enrollees or to replace lost cards, as needed.

  “Now that we have sped up the time it takes to create IDs and process tardy individuals, our students are in class more and therefore have a greater chance for achievement and success”

• Cost and time savings: Deployment required a low capital investment, and the system was easy to set up and use with minimal operator training.
• Adaptability to meet future needs: The field-upgradeable DTC4500 can be modified to fit new requirements as the district’s ID system needs change and evolve. Some school sites are already using the cards for additional applications including checking out media centre resources and cafeteria food purchases.
• Versatile operation: Asure ID enterprise software simplifies the process of card design, data entry and badge creation, including automating the synchronisation of ID badge and attendance data with student records information using the software’s LiveLink capability and the PlascoTrac Data Exchange Modules.
• Simplified attendance management: With PlascoTrac, School officials can scan late-arriving students’ ID cards and automatically print a tardy pass, cutting processing time by 50-60 percent.

“We are very pleased with DPS’ success with this card issuance solution,” said Craig Sandness, vice president of product marketing, Secure Issuance with HID Global. “We worked closely with DPS and its integrator, Plasco ID, to identify and attempt to solve the school’s current and future security requirements as its needs evolve. This is another great example of how the breadth and depth of HID Global’s secure issuance portfolio is helping our educational customers realise tangible benefits.”

Today, both K-12 schools and higher education colleges and universities must combat growing security threats with shrinking budgets. This has created demand for multi-functional smart cards that provide schools with more versatile and efficient secure ID solutions. Thousands of educational institutions around the world have adopted HID Global’s secure issuance solutions to create, use and manage campus ID cards that can be utilised for physical access to buildings, logical access to networks, library checkout and other services, as well as cashless and debit card transactions on and off campus.