http://www.mgmwireless.com/TheAge25Mar05.html System sends a message on truancy By Garry Barker The Age Technology Editor March 25, 2005 Wagging school just got harder, thanks to SMS, the texting technology used by every Australian student within arm's reach of a mobile phone. With more than 10,000 Victorian students skipping classes every day, a growing number of schools are using computer-driven systems to keep tabs on their charges. The new technology automatically generates SMS messages to tell parents when students fail to show up in the morning or skip classes later in the day. In turn parents can send an SMS reply, either offering an explanation, if there is one, or acknowledging a problem they can then discuss with their children. Replies, received by a virtual mobile phone within the computer system, go into the student's record on the school database and a print-out is delivered to the teacher. Lynton Oaten, principal of Hawthorn Secondary College, where the system went live late last year, says truancy rates are already down by about 50 per cent. Schools in NSW and South Australia, where the Adelaide-developed system has been in operation since mid-2004, report reductions of up to 80 per cent in unexplained absences from class. "It's early days yet, but we are more than satisfied of the value of the system," Mr Oaten said. "It has heaps of benefits. It provides a stronger and tighter link between the home and the school and that is very important. Families want to know that their child is being cared for and being monitored. "We know there are kids who are dropped off at school, walk in the front door and out the back. They can no longer do that without by 10.15 in the morning the parent being aware the pupil is not in class." Parents are consulted about participation in the system and asked to supply their mobile phone numbers, he said. Those without mobile phones are contacted on fixed lines if possible, "but with this system in operation, that's now only one or two a day", Mr Oaten said. Truancy is a growing problem in Victorian government schools, according to a report tabled in State Parliament last December by Auditor-General Wayne Cameron. More than 10,000 Victorian students skipped classes every day last year, 17 per cent more than in 1996. Three schools in Victoria, two in Melbourne and one in Geelong, have the system in operation, and another eight are about to have it installed.
http://www.mgmwireless.com/The%20Advertiser-22mar05.htm Now parents get the message on truancy By TANIA BAWDEN 22mar05
HIGH schools across Australia are keeping tabs on their pupils with an SMS system developed by Adelaide-based MGM Wireless.
More than 110 schools, including Adelaide High School, are using the student truancy solution MsgU (Message You) which has produced a range of positive results. The patented mobile-phone messaging system is used to inform parents by SMS text message if their child does not turn up at school. Adelaide High School assistant principal Michael Black said the level of unexplained absence had been reined by as much as 30 per cent since MsgU was introduced in early 2004. "The next stage of its application will involve sending more specific questions to parents, to make contact with the school after three days, and to email teachers or year-level co-ordinators to improve monitoring," Mr Black said. Mark Fortunatow, managing director of share market-listed MGM Wireless, said the system's growth potential was strong. Not only did it discourage the start of serial truancy and high early-school dropout rates but got parents more engaged with the school. "We started operations in South Australia directly as part of an initiative by (Premier) Mike Rann in the last election to crack down and improve student attendance," he said. "The Education Department was trying a range of strategies to improve attendance, with recent reports tabled in Parliament estimating 10,000 kids are off school daily." With the MGM solution, Mr Fortunatow said absenteeism fell as much as 25 per cent in the first week and up to 80 per cent within months. "School funding is linked to student attendance and retention. "Typically, schools are funded between $3000 and $7000 (a student per year) so, for example, if the Message You systems improve attendance by just 40 students a day, this results in an additional $120,000 to $280,000 in funding to these schools per year." Mr Fortunatow said the firm's growth prospects were strong, given the size of the private and public education system, and since it was the first such solution on the market.
http://www.mgmwireless.com/HeraldSun-16mar05.htm SMS used to dob in students Paula Beauchamp 16mar05
MORE than 9100 Victorian families can receive SMS messages if their children miss school for unexplained reasons.
Eleven Victorian schools, including 10 government and one private school, have bought an SMS system that is being used to help cut truancy rates. Those schools have reported falls in unexplained absences of 20 to 80 per cent. Mark Fortunatow, managing director of MGM Wireless, the company that supplies the systems, said at some schools it meant an extra 50 kids were turning up each day. The Auditor-General's report last year found more than 10,000 students skipped school each day and failed to explain their absence. Year 9 students missed more than a month on average. Under the SMS system, parents are also sent text messages if their child is late or skips a class later in the day. On average, about 1 per cent of parents refuse to take part. Hawthorn Secondary College principal Lynton Oaten said unexplained absences had fallen at the school by about 50 per cent. "It's about improving attendance and getting better results for the kids," Mr Oaten said. He said only one parent had refused to take part. "He called it the Nazi checking up of his child," he said. Mum Gaye Sullivan said the system gave her peace of mind. "Leah, 12, travels a fair distance to school by tram and bus," she said. "It is great that I would be told if Leah didn't arrive." Schools yesterday said texting was changing pupils' attitude to truancy. "They now know their parents will get an SMS by 11am if they wag," one principal said. The schools and Opposition education spokesman Victor Perton yesterday urged the State Government to specifically fund the technology. But Education Minister Lynne Kosky said different schools were reducing absenteeism in different ways, including through campaigns and employing more welfare officers. She said overall budgets for government schools were already at record high levels and individual schools had a discretion as to how they spent that money. Schools using the technology include Geelong High School, Weeroona College, Hawthorn Secondary College, Mill Park Secondary College, Kangaroo Flat Secondary College, Kyneton Secondary College, Leongatha Secondary College, Mordialloc College, Coomoora Secondary College and Upper Yarra Secondary College.
http://www.mgmwireless.com/whyalla-8Mar2005.htm Nicolson cuts absences significantly Tuesday, 8 March 2005
Nicolson Avenue Primary School saw unexplained absences cut significantly at the beginning of last year.
Improvement of attendance was noticed when teachers began the process of ringing home when students did not turn up for class.
School principal Mrs Jenny Luscombe said that many students were returned to class.
"They were usually brought back to school by their parents," she said.
Mrs Hughes said the absolute maximum now is half a dozen kids a year recording unexplained absences.
She thinks it has helped that students know that their movements are being tracked.
Saint John's College principal Mr Charlie Allen believes truancy is only a minor problem.
"In the four years since I have been principal truancy has been a very small issue," Mr Allen said.
"If students are away for more than two days we get in contact with their parents.
Mr Allen said the school expects a note of absence the day after.
"It's also up to the care-group teacher in checking the roll for absences and the year level coordinator in re-checking and following up."
Thanks to the system Msg U there have been less absences at Edward John Eyre High school this year.
The school's assistant principal Paul Havelberg said if students are away or late, an SMS message is automatically sent to parents or caregivers, asking them of their whereabouts.
"Although, this isn't a solution for recurring absences," Mr Havelberg said.
"Students who prefer to go to Westlands or the beach for a day are often brought back to school."
Home group teachers are asked to keep an eye on the attendance role, and on students that may not be attending.
If the problem continues, consequences are enforced and families contacted.
Mr Havelberg believed truancy can be a confusing area, as some students have a valid reason.
"We try and to help and support those kids who aren't making it to class," he said.
"We would like to support families more intensely."
http://www.mgmwireless.com/The%20Australian-07mar05.htm SMS puts truants on the spot Jennifer Buckingham 07mar05
KIDS in the Sunraysia area of western NSW who are planning to wag school better think again.
Their chances of getting away with it are slim, thanks to a new system of alerting parents as soon as their absence is noted. At 11.30am each day, just after the attendance roll is marked, a computer-generated SMS text message is sent to the mobile phones of parents whose children are not at school. Parents can then either notify the school that their child is at home, or find out where their child has gone. Attendance rates have increased by more than 30 per cent. NSW Department of Education attendance officer Gill Wakefield works with schools in the region, and says the system has been highly effective in an area where truancy is of great concern. "It's a quite a large problem here. A lot of areas have problems with truancy, but statistics show that Aboriginal populations have truancy rates – two to three times higher than others – and one school here has 70 per cent Aboriginal students," Wakefield says. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which has an Aboriginal working party dealing with issues of importance to the Aboriginal community, has been highly supportive. School attendance is critical in keeping young people engaged and achieving in school, as well as reducing crime. Ron Jackson, president of the Aboriginal Education Consulting Group in Coomealla, works closely with local high schools and says that parents have also responded positively. "They think it's a good system because they don't have people chasing them all the time," Jackson says. "One of the problems before was finding people, and mobiles phones fixed that." Wakefield says that most student absences in primary school are parent-condoned, with the children at home, but this doesn't mean that the SMS message is ignored. "We had one parent who received a message and half an hour later, their kid was at school. It puts pressure on the kids and gives the parents support." The system is funded by schools, which have made significant cuts in other spending areas such as school trips. Costs vary but are typically $7 to $14 per student in establishment costs, and half that in ongoing annual costs. Created specifically for schools by MGM Wireless Ltd, the system is used in almost half of all government schools in South Australia. Around 40 per cent of Sunraysia families have mobile phones, so there is a significant number of families that cannot be reached. But technology can extend the service to landline phones by sending a recorded voice message rather than a text message, but Sunraysia schools have not been able to install it. "We have a dilemma with the Telstra enabling system, which means we haven't been able to see the full potential. I understand that Telstra is going to loan us the equipment for a while, so that is a breakthrough," says Wakefield. MGM Wireless Chief Executive Officer Mark Fortunatow says automated messaging to parents saves schools time and money and has increased attendance by at least 25 per cent in schools using it. In some cases, it has virtually eliminated the problem, he says.
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