Protective system technology solutions in schools ensure that students, faculty, and staff can enter campus buildings and feel that they are in a safe, secure learning environment. However, rising incidents, including threats, violent events, and cyberbullying, have been top concerns for school superintendents and school board officials across the nation.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), public schools in the United States recorded approximately 857,500 violent incidents and 479,500 nonviolent incidents during the 2021-22 school year. Violence doesn’t just impact student safety either. According to the American Psychological Association, one-third of teachers reported at least one form of physical or verbal attack from students during their careers.
In addition, heightened concerns over school shootings and safety practices have added budgetary requirements for school resources. According to an article in the publication K-12 Dive, 2024 recorded the second-highest gun-related incidents, resulting in injury or death since 1966 at 330 separate incidents. These incidents occurred despite increased efforts to add deterrents and preventative measures on school campuses.
There may not be a one-size-fits-all solution that always guarantees safety. However, school officials can implement measures to help prevent threats, record events that do occur, facilitate the management of emergencies, and streamline communication channels to ensure swift action when needed.
Protective systems in schools start with perimeter monitoring. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance offers real-time security, automation, and analytics to enhance building security, prevent unauthorized access, protect assets, and ensure student and faculty safety.
Access controls can sync with the building management system to manage buildings, rooms, and secure area access. Integrated intrusion detection can then work with the access control system to detect unwanted visitors and activity, automating alerts to security personnel and law enforcement agencies.
School districts can take additional steps to integrate intrusion detection with the network infrastructure to support paging and digital messaging from any network-connected device, connecting the fire alarm system, the mass notification system, and the messaging system to ensure streamlined communication and reliability during events and emergencies.
Smart lighting controls can improve visibility and enhance access control, perimeter, and indoor surveillance requirements by providing automated illumination sequencing to aid in emergency evaluation scenarios and other security-related events.
These are just a few technologies that district leaders can integrate into a school’s infrastructure to support a robust emergency management plan for school districts. With implementation and training, fully integrated emergency management systems can help with rapid notification, real-time tracking, and streamlined communication to enable swift action and response to various emergency events. These integrated systems are critical to maintaining the trust of students, parents, and educators.
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This article was originally featured on the Buffalo Business First website. To view the original article, click here.
