Lila Moore
As Davie High completes a trial of the app SmartPass, a digital hall pass system, both students and teachers find themselves conflicted about the app's use at the high school. Graphic designed by Lila Moore via Canva.com
It’s 12:48 PM on a Wednesday afternoon, and you, like all people, need to use the restroom. In previous years, all it would have taken to go to the restroom would have been a simple raised hand and a bathroom pass. But now, the situation is much more complicated. Now, you must sign in to an online tool that dictates when, and for how long, you can be out of class.
This year has brought considerable change to Davie County High School. From the introduction of metal detectors at the school’s entrances to the recent presentations on teacher-student relationships, this year has been quite different. One of the most notable changes has been the implementation of the new SmartPass hallway monitoring system. But what is SmartPass—and more importantly, does Davie High need it?
What Is SmartPass?
SmartPass is a digital hall pass and student accountability platform designed to streamline student movement within K-12 schools. The system aims to enhance safety, efficiency, and instructional time in school.
Using this system, students can request and schedule passes for immediate or future use that teachers can approve or deny with a single click. The real-time visibility of which students are out of class and why, in theory, allows teachers to continue instructional time without worrying about where their students are.
Student and Teacher Reactions
However, some students have a more negative view of SmartPass. “I think it takes up more time than is necessary,” junior Marlene Jones says. Jones feels that SmartPass wastes valuable time when attempting to set up a hall pass.
“You have to literally pull out your Chromebook to go to the thing, to set it up, and then to ask your teacher,” she says. Jones’ disdain goes even further. “I’m actively protesting against using it. Why am I going to waste my time and waste a teacher’s time, and then come back?”
On the other hand, some students see potential in SmartPass. “I think it’s a good idea in theory,” says senior Ellie Addison. “It’s not been horrible, but it could work a lot smoother than it does.”
Some of the main problems with SmartPass, as pointed out by Addison, are the difficulties of using ClassLink. ClassLink is a tool that allows students to find various websites for their school activities, including SmartPass. According to Addison, many students struggle with using ClassLink.
“I’m a teacher’s assistant,” she says. “No one knows how to get to ClassLink, for some reason. That’s how you get to SmartPass. So it takes forever, and they have to constantly ask me for help.”
Another struggle is a misunderstanding of the rules that come with the new hall pass system.
“They’re not even asking the teacher before they leave,” Addison says. “So kids are just, like, getting up and walking out of the classroom, because, I think, they didn’t fully process it,” Addison says.
Many students downloading the SmartPass app on their phone have no doubt taken notice of the app’s 1.1 star aggregate review, raising questions about whether the system truly is the way forward.
On the other hand, AP Environmental Science and Biology teacher Jason Ward believes that SmartPass is immensely beneficial to the student body and teachers.
“Teachers have always had a general sense of which students were regularly out of class for extended periods,” Ward says. However, despite the faculty’s day-to-day knowledge of what goes on in their classrooms, record-keeping was an issue. “It was difficult to keep consistent records, especially while actively teaching. SmartPass now gives us clear data on how much time individual students are spending out of the classroom.”
Ward also believes that SmartPass can contribute to faculty efforts against Davie High’s vandalism and vaping epidemic. “[SmartPass] helps admin address and track negative behaviors like vandalism or vaping in the restrooms and follow up when reports are made,” he says.
SmartPass has experienced some degree of success outside of Davie. According to the SmartPass website, implementing the system at DCL STEM Academy in New Jersey “provided real-time data on student movements, allowing the school to monitor how frequently students left the classroom.”
Ward believes that Davie can experience the same results. “The system acts as a subtle behavioral prompt,” he says. “The simple awareness that time is being tracked reinforces that hallway time is not unstructured free time—it’s time away from learning. Every minute of instructional time matters, and Smart Pass helps reinforce that message.”
Ward also believes that SmartPass will save teachers time, particularly in their planning periods. “Previously, many teachers had to sit at the Tardy Table during their planning periods,” he says. “Automated tracking has allowed those teachers to reclaim their planning time for grading, lesson prep, and student support—essential tasks that directly benefit classroom learning.”
Overall Impact
It remains unclear what the impact of SmartPass will be on Davie High. Faculty excitement and student speculation—probably the most common reaction to any school-wide change—still run rampant, even after the system has been fully implemented. As the year winds to an end, many students and faculty members are left wondering if SmartPass will end up like Securly Flex.