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It may sound like a threatening, predatory dinosaur, but a “Raptor” can be found inside seven Tyler ISD elementary schools protecting students and helping the staff keep track of visitors.

It’s part of a pilot program that began in March at Jones, Clarkston, Woods, Austin, Caldwell, Rice and Owens elementary schools that was funded through a $10,000 Tyler ISD Foundation grant.

Visitors to these schools provide a driver’s license or some state-issued identification to be scanned through a Raptor Ware optical scanner. The scan allows schools to print out a visitor’s badge featuring the person’s photo, name, destination on campus and date and time of arrival.

The scan also runs the ID against a sex offender database. An alert can be automatically sent to district and school officials, including the TISD Police, if the scan reveals that the visitor is a possible registered sex offender. The identity of the possible offender is confirmed before the alert is issued in case of a false match.

Schools have been trained on how to use the software and on how to handle a situation if there is a sex offender match.

Raptor has already pounced once since the pilot program was implemented, flagging an offender, but TISD officials say procedures were followed as they should have been and the situation went smoothly.

Darlene Marshall, director of elementary education at TISD, applied for the grant to fund the pilot program after having the software on her campus when she was a principal in another district.

“Just as we’re trying to increase the success academically for our students, we’re also looking for new avenues to increase safety so that this academic success can occur,” she said.

“We have a responsibility to students. We have a responsibility to parents to make an effort to make sure that school is not only a fun place and a place of success but most importantly a place of safety.”

Ms. Marshall noted that the implementation of the program should not be seen as a sign of a predator problem — that’s not the case and not why she applied for the grant, she said.

“It adds an additional layer of safety for our campuses,” she said.

In addition to being able to keep track of visitors and their time on campus, the software also provides features to keep track of volunteer hours and can allow schools to use it for students to sign in late or sign out early.

“Not only is it a safety tool, it’s very convenient for tracking other information,” Ms. Marshall said.

So far, every school loves it, she said, although some visitors initially seemed a little inconvenienced at the change in procedure.

It’s not a background check, officials noted. It won’t show if you ran a red light or got a parking ticket or even if you were arrested for something more significant — unless you’re a registered sex offender.

At Rice Elementary on Wednesday, as a steady stream of people flowed in and out of the main office, where visitors have to go before they can even access the rest of the school, Raptor was doing its job.

One by one as visitors entered, Leslie Wood, the receptionist, scanned their IDs — some already knew the drill and had their license in hand.

“The parents, while they might feel a little inconvenienced sometimes about certain things, the majority of them feel so good that we’re taking an extra precaution to keep their kids safer,” Rice Interim Principal Dana Sustaire said. “We feel great about it.”

One parent checking in at the office, without prompting, told Ms. Wood of the ID scan, “It just makes me feel better — my child is taken care of.”

It gives the school some peace of mind too.

“At any time I can look up at see how many people are on our campus,” Ms. Wood said.

District and school officials believe that just the public knowledge that these schools have such a program will serve as a deterrent.

“Security-wise, it is just a tremendous asset because all visitors know that upon entering the campus you have to have your valid ID and are going to be requested to present your valid ID,” Tyler ISD Police Chief Rex Brown said. “It’s just more headache than someone wants to put up with that is up to no good. In that respect, it’s an excellent deterrent.”

The V-Soft Software is part of Raptor Technologies Inc. It is a Web-based software application. Raptor is in more than 560 school districts in 38 states, Ms. Marshall said.

“Their reputation is excellent,” she said. “They get great results.”

The cost of the software is about $1,500 per campus, she said, with a $500 yearly maintenance fee.

The seven schools in the pilot program were chosen because those were the first seven to apply.

It’s not clear yet whether more schools will receive the software or if those who currently have it will get to keep it after the contract expires next spring.

Ms. Marshall said she will gather feedback and evaluate the program in January.

Ms. Wood said she hopes the feedback is good enough that more schools can have it — she works at a school but she’s also the parent of a TISD student and she believes it’s worth “every penny” of the cost.

“You can’t put a price on the safety of your kid,” she said. “You can’t — not now.”