Sonic Safeguard

Violence and vandalism used to plague Sacramento's racially mixed John F. Kennedy High School. "It is a fantastic mixture of haves and have-nots," says Principal Frank Schimandle, "and that is the problem."

Schimandle assumed his job after the school's former principal was felled by a heart attack in the midst of a 1968 student riot. Determined to stop the troubles, he worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on a $1,300,000 project that produced an ultrasonic system to monitor the sprawling 44-acre campus.

Each student is assigned a four-digit number that is recorded in classrooms by the teacher and fed into a computer, which checks the roll call and notifies the principal of any absentees. "Then we find him real quick," says Schimandle. "When kids are out of class, they're usually in trouble."

To remedy actual trouble, each teacher, administrator and employee now carries a pencil-size ultrasonic transmitter. When triggered, the "pencils" spark a light on a wall map in Schimandle's office; a horn honks for the principal's attention. Help can be dispatched within 30 seconds. So far this year, Schimandle reports, the number of major incidents has dropped to zero.

"Racial disturbances usually stem from some dispute between two students, and only become racial when other students take sides," he says. "By getting teachers on the scene quickly, we can solve problems before they grow into something bigger."

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