Riverside Brookfield High School is adopting a new tardy system called “Hero” which will be implemented Friday, February 5, 2016.

“The program itself is to track tardies and we are going to track tardies per period for the remainder of this year,” Assistant Principal of Student Affairs Dave Mannon said. “With Hero, we’re more mobile.”

This new system is the beginning of RBHS taking a step to reduce tardies. Hero will be able to track students more efficiently with a mobile app along with a handheld device. Hero will begin to track late students every class hour.

“Our security team and our deans, we all have… the Hero app on our phone,” Mannon said. “So when students have their IDs we’ll bring a student up, it’ll scan their id, and automatically print them a pass and whatever that consequence or warning would be. So the first and second time they’re late it’s a warning, and the third time is a consequence.”

Teacher’s habits with tardy students will also have to change.

“Kids who are late to class, teachers will shut the door, they won’t allow kids in,” Mannon said. “Students will have to go find where security will be at. We designated a couple different spots: the [Door] G-2 stairs, by the nurses office, and by the art pit.”

Mannon described how Hero can be used for security measures as well, such as allowing security guards to track when restrooms are clear, to helping to crackdown on graffiti or for students who are loitering in the hallways.

“What we’re trying to do here is curve the amount of kids that are loitering in the hallways and have them in class and engaged,” Mannon said. “That’s been a major cause of concern for teachers and the administration, just because we have so many kids especially after lunch are just hanging out in the hallways that need to be in class. So this is a very good way of ensuring that kids get tracked and that they are accountable.”

This is not the only thing Hero is capable of. Hero is taking a step toward the digital age of schools. For example, instead of paper Bulldog Bucks, Hero will track positive behavior and on-time students through a virtual point reward system.

“A third component is PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.) Right now we have Bulldog Bucks and teachers will hand those out and kids will put them in the lockers, and receive their reward or incentive,” Mannon said. “This won’t start until next year, but every student has the ability to download the app on their phone. We can award incentives as you go along, so if you get 25 points, that could be a fast pass in lunch. So we have to work with our discipline committee to come up with what those incentives look like.”

Other schools have Hero already in place. It was previously called “Plasco Trac,” but it’s name was later changed to “Hero.”

“We’re not doing this as a punishment,” Mannon said. “We’re doing this to get kids reinforced and getting to class on time, and setting those behavior policies.”

The RBHS administration strongly encourages students to carry their smart phones and download the app. With the Hero app, students will have the ability to look and see when their detention is.

“If kids want to, they could take a picture of their ID on their phone, and we could scan that off your phone, if you don’t have your ID on you handy,” Mannon said.

Hero is a new system to the RBHS environment. Mannon braces himself for the negativity that comes with change.

“We’re expecting some pushback because this is new,” Mannon said. “It’s a change in culture for kids.”

UPDATED 2/04/2016 @ 9:16 a.m.: According to Dave Mannon, the HERO tardy system will now be implemented at a later date. Administration is targeting Wednesday, February 10, 2016, for the full-implementation of the new system.

UPDATED 2/09/2016 @ 8:29 a.m.: According to Dave Mannon, one of the HERO tardy system stations has been moved from the hallway with the nurse’s office to the field house hallway.