New Technology Will Address School Safety Challenges
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Raptor Technologies calls themselves “the gold standard in school safety,” and the Chinook Schools are considering adopting a Visitor Management system produced by Raptor to address school safety challenges and to streamline other school operations.
According to Chinook School Superintendent Darin Hannum, Raptor Technologies is the nation’s leading provider of integrated school safety technologies. “Their Visitor Management system is an observation and tracking tool that will help to keep our staff and students safe because it enables us to track everyone coming into the schools,” Hannum said.
Hannum called the technology a “human management system,” that, in addition to providing districtwide reporting for all visitors, will screen for sex offenders, alert staff of any custody violations and print visitor badges.
With Raptor Visitor Management, every visitor entering the school can be instantly screened against the national registered sex offender database. The Raptor system can also check visitors against databases customized by the school district, which may contain custody alerts and/or banned visitors. Additionally, the system records accurate and reliable visitor details and sign-in history.
Another system feature, the Emergency Panic Button, would enable front desk personnel to instantly alert administrators, law enforcement officials, fire departments, or even first responders if an emergency or safety issue occurs.
“The secretaries have been asking for some kind of an alert system for such circumstances,” Hannum said. “Occasionally, we get angry parents or an injured student, and this emergency feature would enable our frontline people to immediately call for help if it is needed. It also helps us to ensure that students are not released to people without custodial rights.”
According to Chinook High School Principal Matt Molyneaux, the system not only addresses school safety challenges but is part of the School Safety Committee’s recommendations. “We will be able to update our security camera systems as well as address some of our crisis management concerns,” he said. “Having a direct line to emergency personnel if an intruder or lock down situation occurs will save time in a crisis situation.”
Molyneaux went on to say that “While we’d like to think that a school shooting or similar threat won’t happen here, we need to increase school security and address school safety challenges.”
Molyneaux explained that the system would further enable the schools to streamline various aspects of school operation that are currently maintained with paper records, like the method for students checking-in or out of the school at the office. Visitor Management would also automate the school’s procedures with monitoring substitute teachers in the various buildings in the district.
“Then, in the case of an emergency, we would know the location of every student, staff member or substitute. These updates would save time and streamline many of our operations,” Molyneaux added.
About this system, Superintendent Hannum wants the community to know that the school’s main focus is to be have a more efficient tracking system for substitute teachers, visitors, contractors, and others with business in the schools. “The system will help us manage and prepare up-to-date badges and rosters for daily activities and emergencies,” he said.
