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

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • Minnesota Middle School Finishes $23.5M Addition and Modernization

    Highland Park Middle School in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $23.5-million addition and remodel project, according to a news release. Saint Paul Public Schools partnered with ATS&R Planners, Architects & Engineers for its design and Kraus-Anderson for its construction.