Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Can Technology Make Schools Safer?

  • By Chris Holbert
  • 02/01/18

Safety in schools is a topic heard often in the news, which raises questions about what can be done to further safeguard the learning environment. According to the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2016, 65 percent of public schools recorded one or more violent incidents during the 2013-14 school year.

If an attack is threatened or occurs at school, teachers could be alone with a student or unable to notify school authorities that an event is taking place. Typically, a teacher would have to use a phone to make a call or unlock their cell phone to send a text or email. Some schools also use handheld radios to create direct lines of communication. But, all of these options create an obvious visual or audio signal to an attacker that the incident is being reported.

An alternative solution schools should consider for classroom safety is a mobile personal emergency response (mPERS) device. Sometimes referred to as a mobile panic button, these devices are small and lightweight. They can be placed under the desk where they are permanently on. They can be set to “covert” mode where alarms and send immediately with the press of a button. A one-way voice channel is started where trained emergency response operators can clearly hear what is happening, though there is no sound coming from the device.

The mPERS device, can be mobile if the administrator or teacher needs to take it with them on the move. Most devices have days of battery life and can track the whereabouts of the carrier, while keeping the phone call or “voice channel” open for the emergency response team.

In an emergency, a simple press of the single button on the device will send an SOS alert to school authorities or multiple teams, if that is needed. Simultaneously, a phone call is made to trained emergency operators who can assess the situation, locate the individual pressing the button using GPS and other technologies, and dispatch the right assistance quickly.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management February 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Chris Holbert, is CEO of SecuraTrac. Find out more at www.securatrac.com.

Featured

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.