School safety continues to be top of mind for school administrators, teachers, students and their parents. According to the Pew Research Center, 18% of K-12 teachers report they’re extremely or very worried about the possibility of a school shooting and another 59% say that are least somewhat worried.
School Safety Challenges
In the current climate, schools are experiencing growing awareness of a variety of safety challenges, from bullying and mental health crises to external threats and emergencies. This has spurred a significant demand for robust school safety systems, which are essential to providing secure learning spaces.
While a great deal of attention has been placed on implementing new processes and procedures, schools need to also consider what components of their physical security solutions are missing or need an upgrade. School security systems offer not just protection from immediate physical threats but also create a sense of security that is crucial for student and staff well-being and academic focus.
Considerations for Processes and Procedures
At a foundational level, school districts should conduct regular risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and establish protocols for access control. They should ensure that all entry points are secured and monitored, with visitor management verification systems in place.
Emergency drills, including lockdown and evacuation procedures, should be practiced routinely, with clear communication plans designed to keep students, staff, parents, school administrators, and first responders informed in real time.
Each school district and their individual K-12 schools should have safety plans and educate their staff and students on those plans.
Training programs are crucial for school administrators, faculty and staff, who should be equipped with skills in threat recognition and conflict de-escalation alongside basic emergency response techniques. Collaborating with local law enforcement and first responders can further enhance preparedness, allowing for coordinated responses in the event of a crisis and helping school leaders examine best practices for preventing violence.
Finally, mental health resources and programs should be made available to foster a supportive environment, as early intervention can mitigate potential risks.
Through these policies and procedures, in combination with the supportive infrastructure of physical security solutions, schools can build a resilient, responsive framework for ensuring the safety and security of all individuals on campus.
Key Components of Physical Security Solutions
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), schools are taking steps to implement reliable and effective school safety systems. For example, 97% require visitors to sign in and wear badges, and have implemented some sort of security system to control access to school buildings during school hours.
But an effective physical security solution should be multifaceted, addressing both threat prevention and response.
Schools should ensure that their safety systems cover the following security measures:
Intruder Detection
Threat detection capabilities are crucial to identifying potential risks before they escalate. An ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure. In addition to requiring visitors to sign in and wear badges and keeping doors locked, an effective threat detection system should include a well-deployed video surveillance system with the ability to both track and identify threats.
Advanced video surveillance systems can identify individuals with a known history of violent or disruptive behavior before they enter the building and send notifications to school and law enforcement personnel. Security cameras should also be used as surveillance systems to live-stream threat events to first responders and law enforcement, giving them “eyes on the ground” as the situation evolves. These systems work most effectively when integrated with larger communication and alert platforms and access control systems.
Campus Access Control
Access control systems play a pivotal role in maintaining security, as they monitor and regulate who enters and exits a building.
Exterior doors and entry points can be restricted so that access is limited. By restricting access to authorized individuals through badges, key codes, and guards, these security technologies can prevent potential threats such as intruders, active shooters, or unauthorized visitors gaining access to students and staff.
Rapid Two-Way Communication and Coordination Tools
During a threat, communication is key to ensuring that those people within the school, security personnel, and first responders receive continually updated real-time information about the threat. A robust communication system contains:
- Readily available alarm buttons via wall-mounted, work, or mobile devices, to signal concerns over a security threat.
- Public announcement systems, such as intercoms, and digital signage to provide timely enterprise-wide information during a crisis.
- Smartphone-enabled tools that notify first responders and provide alerts across stakeholders. These tools also allow for location mapping of individuals during a threat and the dissemination of status reports.
- Two-way communication portal between the school, law enforcement and other emergency personnel, because every second counts when there is an active threat situation.
- A unified secure technology platform to connect, integrate, and operate the various security components.
SOS Technologies School Security Experience
SOS Technologies has worked with several schools to implement these types of physical security systems. Unity School, a private school in Florida, wanted to supplement their existing monitoring system and on-site guards with a more robust physical solution. They partnered with SOS Technologies to deploy the SmartSOS™ platform on campus. It integrates directly with their local dispatch system to engage first responders within seconds of an alarm being engaged.
In addition, the system is connected to all employees via a smartphone app, and notifies them with texts and email in case of an emergency.
Investing in school safety systems is essential to creating an environment where students can thrive, protected from both physical and psychological harm, and where teachers feel secure and not distracted by safety concerns. A well-rounded, integrated approach to school safety enables schools to foster a secure and nurturing space, preparing students for both academic and personal success.
Contact SOS Technologies to learn how you can prevent and mitigate threats in your schools.