Worc. Co. school embracing technology in the hopes of increasing attendance
Take a walk inside Pocomoke High School and you might catch more students on their smart phones. School officials tell us they are not necessarily using their phones leisurely. They say its due to a new check-in app called 'Warrior Nation' that is geared toward its students.
Annette Wallace, the Principal at Pocomoke High School says, "Technology is not going to go away. We really started embracing it instead of fighting it."
Wallace tells us creating the app was a group effort amongst their students and an engagement platform called SuperFanU. Wallace tells us the reason for creating the app is to increase attendance and decrease tardiness in high school.
"That's one of our big things getting to school on time. So they can kind of manage themselves with the app. There is time limits on it and it has to be within the physical structure of the building, because we set up all the parameters," says Wallace.
Another major component is to increase school spirit and participation in after-school activities.
Wallace tells us through the app students can check into different school related events such as after-school programs and basketball games. Each time a student checks- in they receive points that they can later redeem. She says those points work as cash that can go towards buying incentives
"They are excited to earning things like prom tickets, homecoming tickets, sweatshirt, t-shirts, lanyards, snacks during lunch time," says Jenifer Rayne, the Assistant Principal.
Anissa Jones, a senior at Pocomoke High School has already accumulated 80 points since the app launched. She tells us this app will help offset some of her senior expenses.
"Certain people like me cannot often afford to buy certain things, so having this actually makes it a lot easier with prom coming up," says Jones.
School officials tells us 50 percent of its students are actively using the app. They tell us their goal is to get all 340 students involved and to create a sense of community within the school. Pocomoke High School officials tell us parents have started to use the app too.
