Kalili Hunt, an official with the Department of Education, holds up a DOE employee badge used in the department’s all new computerized payroll scan system (scanner is at left, mounted to the wall) installed at schools across Tutuila by e-rate, a division of DOE. After Manu’a receives their scanners, all 80 DOE work sites will have the system up. DOE’s some 2,000 employees will be required to scan their cards when they clock in and clock out at work and all data will be accessible to the main DOE office.
[photo: Tina Mata’afa]
The American Samoa Department of Education has implemented a new computerized card scanning system to track the attendance of its roughly 2,000 employees working at 80 work sites across American Samoa. The system, a Compumatic badge card employee payroll scan system, requires all ASDOE employees have an ASDOE badge.
The badge then must be scanned at their work location — when educators, administrators, office personnel and even school lunch workers — clock in for work and clock out.
Information scanned at any given ASDOE site is immediately stored into a centralized computer database, located at the ASDOE main office. The new system, explained Kalili Hunt, an ASDOE official, allows department director Dr. Claire Poumele to access the information at any time from the centralized database.
“The director can actually access the information, and see who is at work and where everyone is,” he said. “We’re happy with this system.”
Hunt says the purpose of the scan system, installed by ASDOE’s e-Rate division, is to accurately document time-in and time-out of all ASDOE employees, in order to help lift its ‘high risk’ status — designated by the USDOE.
He explained that Compumatic “is a really good system” noting that part of the ‘high risk’ status is linked to ASDOE’s former practice of sign-in and sign-out sheets.
School administrators — who are participating in the three-day ASDOE Leadership Academy that opened yesterday at the Tafuna Elementary School cafeteria — have received their badges, said Hunt.
This week is “test week” for the system, he explained, with all scanners being tested on site at the 80 different locations.
All school faculty, administrators, ASDOE office employees and support staff will receive their badges Aug. 7 during the ASDOE general assembly.
(The general assembly has been rescheduled by Poumele, from Aug. 3 to Aug. 7, to allow teachers to complete orientation sessions first, according to Hunt.)
“All administrators have their cards and on Aug.7 cards will be issued at the General Assembly,” he said. “This week we are running tests at all the schools and offices...there are 80 work sites for DOE, with 29 schools, the School Lunch Program, ECE and all the different segments of DOE...we wanted to find a system that would handle individual sites.”
Hunt further said the system will document, not only who is working and where they are working, but DOE employees who take leave, vacation, or go on an approved trip.
He said the error factor for the system is one in a million.
“The computer keeps all the data from 80 stations and logs it into a centralized computer at the main office,” Hunt said. “We can make sure everybody is at work.”
He said another plus for the system is that it gives ASDOE flexibility, as far as having employees clock in for work. He noted as teachers or office employees may have a to work at a different site on any given day, an employee may scan their badge at any ASDOE location.
Officials at the main ASDOE office can then see where the employee is and what time they started work.
“...at DOE our main purpose is to educate our children...this system can make sure teachers get to work on time and it will raise the bar of education for our students,” said Hunt.
Scanners have been installed at all ASDOE locations on Tutuila and e-Rate personnel are set to install scanners in Manu’a this weekend, said Hunt.
Poumele, speaking to Samoa News at the leadership academy says the purpose of the three-day event is to bring in school leaders and divisions of ASDOE, in order to familiarize school administrators with each division.
Representatives from each division will be making presentations until tomorrow.
During her presentation, Poumele discussed school leadership and reiterated the ASDOE mission and vision. She also covered the new districts for ASDOE — central, western, mid-western, eastern and Manu’a.
She told Samoa News DOE is a big department and in order to be responsive to the 29 schools and Early Childhood Education Centers, the new approach is to work in “smaller groups.”
Previously, ASDOE schools were divvied up into just three districts.
“Over the three days, we’re going to cover specific programs of DOE,” she said. “We really want to inspire our leaders to do a better job with their students.”
Tomorrow at 12 p.m., Tumua Matu’u, Athletic Director for DOE and Physical Education Coordinator at DOE’s Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability (OCIA) is expected to shed some light on the administration of school sports in the upcoming school year.
Many football coaches said they are waiting to find out what has become of the ruling body of high school sports — the American Samoa High School Athletics Association (ASHSAA), comprised of high school principals.
Reports have said it has been placed on hold or will be dissolved.
