High School Implements All in One ID System
Zion Benton Township High School is a school of 2,100 students, located on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago at the Wisconsin/Illinois border. It stands out as a model for other urban schools that are looking for ways to increase overall security. They earned their reputation by implementing several special initiatives, including the training of hall-monitors, hiring a safety staff, setting up a sign-in system for guests, purchasing two-way radios for the entire staff, and hiring a full-time police officer as a school resource.
Though all of these security measures were in place, Zion Benton believed one other factor of security needed to be implemented: personal identification. Students, faculty and staff needed a way to identify themselves and access facilities. Along with utilizing photo IDs for security needs, the students use the bar-coded cards to purchase food in the cafeteria on the debit system, to check out library materials, to purchase supplies and to expedite textbook distribution.
Making the Choice
To enroll over 2,100 students at the start of each school year, Zion Benton needed a system that was reliable and easy to use. Local support for both sales and service was also important. Coordinator of safety and attendance Terry Evans and Principal Sandy Galgan were important decision-makers in the process of purchasing the photo ID system. "In addition to enrolling 2,100 students in two days, we also have two people here who print IDs for other occasions throughout the year," says Evans. "These other cards include Memorial Cards, IDs for the local Booster Club, IDs for students attending a Washington field trip and matching luggage tags for the trip."
To meet these varied needs, Zion Benton High School purchased a photo ID system from Datacard Group. The system included an Ultima Class printer, an Auto-2000 camera, a PC and QuikWorks photo ID software. QuikWorks photo ID software is a complete design and production package for a variety of badging applications.
This type of all-in-one system was just what the school was looking for. The Datacard Ultima Class ImageCard IV printer was a good solution for Zion Benton, since they also were looking for a desktop printer designed for high-volume use, and wanted to produce cards with superior image quality and long life.
High school students are required to have their badges with them at all times, so there was some concern that the IDs might become damaged with daily use. The built-in lamination option on the ImageCard IV printer addressed this concern by applying a polyester overlay to protect against wear and tear on the card surface.
The Auto-2000 camera was also very useful to Zion Benton in helping them quickly capture 2,100 student images at the start of the school year. High-quality images are captured in seconds by pointing and clicking a mouse. The power panning, power zoom and auto focus features make this camera easy for schools to learn and use.
Speed and Support
Zion Benton appreciates the on-site service and technical support the Datacard System Engineers and Service Staff offer them. On one peak enrollment day, Datacard provided another printer to produce the high-volume of cards for the students in a short time. "Eight members of our staff made 1,792 IDs in 20 hours," Terry Evans reports.
Contact Information
Datacard Corp.
Minnetonka, MN
(612) 933-0333
www.datacard.com
This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2000 issue of THE Journal.