Since Tuesday, April 25, Upper School students have been required to scan in and out of the building using a QR code. Junior Grant Koh helped communicate how the new security system works to the student body. “The new security system was made to give the school a better picture of who is in the building at any given time,” Koh said.

Based on an anonymous survey of the Upper School which gave data on how many students actually use the new security system, 68% of Upper School students who responded say that they always check in. Many students expressed that it is a quick and easy process and think that the additional ten seconds is worth the extra safety. Others do it because it’s a rule and they don’t want their “off campus privilege” revoked. “It doesn’t take much time out of my day to sign in,” Nina Ariav, a freshman, said, “and it makes me feel safer to know that adults know where I am.”

Despite the majority of students checking in consistently, over 71% of Upper School students think that it is unnecessary and inconvenient. Students express that it takes too long or that they don’t have their ID or cell phone out to check in. Multiple students said that it gets stuck or that they forget to check in. One Upper School student said, “It takes forever and is so frustrating to wait when everyone is leaving at once.” Another student said, “It’s annoying and when I’m already late or running behind it takes too long. It could be the deciding factor of getting marked tardy or not.” 

There seems to be a lot of confusion on why the security system is necessary and why the original one didn’t work. “We seemed to function fine before using the system, but I also don’t think they would make us do it for no reason,” one respondent said. 

Many people gave suggestions on how the security system could be improved. The majority of the responses were related to the time it takes to check in. After scanning the QR code, the screen loads then you have to click sign in/out. “It doesn’t automatically sign you in once you scan your barcode — sometimes it asks you to wait and then click a button to sign in, which is unnecessary, especially since it only happens some of the time” says one student. 

Although there are three iPads for sign in and and three for sign out in the Clark entrance and two of each in the Webster entrance, some students want more to be installed so more people can sign in at once. “It would be easier if there were more iPads or if the sign-in process was faster because sometimes there are clumps and it takes a while to get in and out of the school,” Ariav said.

Despite the critiques of the new system, students are appreciative of the Apple Wallet QR code. One student wrote, “It’s the easiest it can be with the ID being on Apple Wallet.”

Koh believes the process is successful. “It seems that the system is working well and being pretty widely used,” he said. “Overall, signing in and out is a fast process that everyone should be in the habit of doing.”