[ad_1]
While classes were out for summer, schools went full speed ahead in planning for increased safety measures in response to increased incidents on campus.
The successful passing of Tennessee’s Safe Schools Act, which provides grant funds to ensure our schools have access to innovative safety solutions, is a testament to the critical role played by technology in our emergency response infrastructure.
As a native Tennessean, I began my career in public service as a midnight-shift telecommunicator “under the 911 headset” more than 25 years ago. This has allowed a unique perspective on the available technology resources that can be used before, during and after an emergency. On a personal note, I’m also a father, and know that not all parents have the same level of insight into the next-generation tools that make a significant difference in saving lives during a crisis.
I want to help parents answer the fundamental question: “What more can we do to keep our children safe?”
Your child’s school has a safety plan. Do you know what it is?
Relationships are power. Work with your school system and ask about your child’s school’s safety plans, advocate for best-in-class technology solutions, and ensure the tools your schools choose are seamlessly integrated with your local emergency communications center, where 911 professionals answer our calls 24/7.
Campus safety solutions being explored by schools right now include silent alarms, panic buttons, live-feed camera systems, gunshot detection, AI gun surveillance and indoor mapping. All these technologies should provide first responders with a comprehensive understanding of every school incident, integrate with existing local response systems and improve situational awareness when locating students.
Every ECC statewide has access to RapidSOS, an intelligent safety platform that securely links data from connected devices like leading smartphones and smartwatches, smart home security systems, connected vehicles, medical devices, popular ride-shares and food and grocery delivery apps directly to 911. Several school safety systems already collaborate with RapidSOS to immediately route lifesaving data directly to ECCs via the intelligent safety platform.
For example, Loudon County’s Lenoir Police Department and Lenoir City School system collaborated on a safety plan that increases communication between the campuses and 911 center and provides access to indoor mapping of the high school’s layout via a tool called GeoComm. Jeanne Barker, director of Lenoir City Schools, believes this level of preparation will aid in a rapid response and save lives.
No elementary school resource officers?Nashville police ‘invested in keeping kids safe,’ responds to criticism over elementary school SRO’s
GeoComm, the indoor mapping solution used, is able to provide first responders visuals of school floor plans, classroom names, entrances and exits, and locations of those calling 911. Simply put, school safety hinges on a timely, informed response.
At a time when 911 dispatchers have had to rely on a caller to verbally communicate crisis details on the phone, dispatching delays and difficulty in pinpointing incident locations is often an issue in responding efficiently. This type of cost-effective technology allows responders to provide assistance swiftly and effectively.
Dan Craigie, GeoComm’s strategic development director, believes that integrating joint solutions is the answer to bridging the communications gap during any emergency on campus.
Tennessee is already a national public safety leader in hardening its 911 infrastructure. Even so, no school is immune to emergencies, which is why advancing resources is critical.
Consider asking how your child’s school handles emergency situations. Is it using tech tools that are connected to 911 directly? How does the school communicate with parents during emergencies?
If we work collaboratively, Tennessee can continue to improve the outcomes of tomorrow’s emergencies.
Jamison Peevyhouse is vice president of public safety for RapidSOS, the first emergency response data platform securely linking data to 911 and first responders nationwide.
[ad_2]
Source link
