Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Biometric recognition provides hardened school security

  • 10/01/13
FST21 SafeRise 

The FST21 SafeRise solution registers and identifies visitors at the door using a fusion of biometric recognition, face, behavioral and even license plate recognition protocols.

The recent, profoundly tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut brought to light very sadly, and all too clearly, the urgent need for heightened access security in our schools. The Bais Yaakov School for Girls (“BYLA”), a high school in Los Angeles, has long been a proactive leader in this arena, and has taken some serious and ongoing steps to harden security at the school for years. Adam Cohen, a volunteer Facilities Manager for BYLA, initiated the effort as far back as 2003, when he oversaw the installation of seven doors with access keypads and electric door strikes.

In the summer of 2009, Cohen hardened school security even further when he had the FST21 SafeRise solution installed. “When I heard what FST21 was developing,” he recalls, “I said ‘I want it!” He went with FST21’s SafeRise solution, an In Motion Identification system that employs quick and highly secure identification. The system registers users and can identify anyone at the door and allow approved user access through a fusion of biometric recognition, face, behavioral, voice and even license plate recognition.

BYLA upgraded the system a few months ago to add an eighth door – an internal door to an office of the staff members. “We’ve customized who has access and at what times,” Cohen adds. “Staff, for example, has different access hours than students. Custodial staff has different hours than students, and if, for instance, there are extra-curricular activities going on after school hours, we can remotely update the access parameters for any group.”

The staff and students at BYLA adapted quickly and easily to the SafeRise solution, Cohen reports. It is always alert and active, creating a secure feeling for the students and the staff. It’s much more than an access control system, it gives you a feeling it is a system you can actually trust.”

www.fst21.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • College of the Desert Hits Construction Milestone on New Campus

    College of the Desert recently announced that the construction of its new Palm Springs Campus in Palm Springs, Calif., recently reached a major construction milestone, according to a news release. The college is partnering with general contractor C.W. Driver Companies, which recently “topped out” the facility by placing the final beam in its structure.