When Twin Rivers Unified School District in Sacramento, California, decided to become one of the first in the state to distribute RFID-enabled cards to its track its school bus riders, it soon became apparent to officials that only one solution met all requirements: CI Solutions.
The district had set out to provide RFID student tracking with another company, but the project stalled when the consultant was unable to connect its solution with the district’s GPS and routing provider.
In the meantime, Twin Rivers Unified decided to also expand the student ID project for the entire student body and include data collection from the school library and cafeteria as well as for secure student access to their district-provided Chromebooks. Director of Transportation Tim Shannon took on the task of researching printers for making ID cards. He soon realized it made more sense for Twin Rivers USD to contract with a company that specializes in the job, especially as it also needed the capability to connect with Versatrans student tracking and the My Stop app.
It didn’t take Shannon long to discover the best option.
“CI Solutions seemed to be the most knowledgeable on the product and the most responsive,” he recalls.
The Orange County company manufactured 33,000 custom cards for Twin Rivers in the initial run for the start of the 2017-2018 school year. In a span of four weeks CI Solutions programed each RFID card with each respective child’s photo tied to the individual student record. The ID cards utilize RFID technology that allow each student to scan on and off the bus for all routes, after-school programs and field trips conducted to and from 40 campuses.
“This will be a convenient way to create ridership lists and verify student attendance,” explained Shannon. “We will be able to see where they get on the bus and off along with the time. Parents will be able to log into the MyStop app on their phone or computer and see if their child was picked up or dropped off for peace of mind.”
CI Solutions also ensured that Shannon and his team were not tasked with printing cards at the beginning of each school year. To manage card replacement, the company installed RFID-enabled card printers and proprietary enrollment software for the district. The company also supports direct connectivity to a central student information database and provide live updates of card information as a new card is printed. The process of printing an ID card as a student is enrolled is crucial to ensure students can use their ID card at the same time it is printed.
CI Solutions also layered school logos and colors under the surface of the plastic to ensure the card would not fade over time.
“It is great working with Tim and his team at Twin Rivers USD,” says Miles Cole, system consultant for CI Solutions. “They continue to implement innovative technology for their students and staff and it is pleasure to help support them on this important effort.”
For more information, contact CI Solutions at www.cardintegrators.com or 800-599-7385.
https://www.cardintegrators.com/student-bus-pass-printing/
