The business of of keeping modern school campuses safe and secure is complicated by numerous factors. As a school Principal or administrators, so many parts of your day are utterly unpredictable. You just can’t say which kids will show up to school with a bad attitude or lingering stress from problems at home. How many teachers will call out sick tomorrow? Will the boiler last another winter? There’s no telling. Unknown security issues and potential school threats are just more unpredictable factors that could demand your attention at a moment’s notice.
Many police departments have altered their processes to better accommodate the unique needs of school campuses. School Resource Officers are valuable additions to the campuses they serve. Training students and staff to respond appropriately to threats can go a long way to mitigate issues. Locking exterior doors can help keep trouble out, and installing security cameras allows you to monitor the trouble happening inside. These are all great steps in the right direction, but there is more you could be doing to secure your campus.
Data collection and management systems can help by streamlining many of the day-to-day functions of a school. These systems can also become critical tools for mitigating possible security issues and maintaining a secure campus. A full spectrum data management plan will integrate a streamlined Visitor Management System, Smart ID cards for all students and staff, and Alternative Behavior Technology. Here are some specific examples of how these three tools can help you potential school threats and maintain a safe learning environment.
Visitor Management System
The National Education Association’s Framework for Safe & Successful Schools endorses a visitor check-in system as one of the most basic and effective potential school threat prevention measures. ScholarChip agrees. A good Visitor Management System allows your office staff to scan visitors’ driver licenses to automatically register each visitor. This system is a faster and more sound method of data collection than maintaining a paper sign-in log.
Having office staff run visitors’ licenses pulls verified information directly from your state’s licensing bureau, including an instant sex offender registry check. Once a visitor is registered, check-ins go quicker and do not require re-submitting visitor information because it’s already stored in the system. When the visitor checks out, their visit duration is recorded. Visitor logs can easily be cross-checked in the event of an unfortunate incident.
Smart ID Cards
Smart ID cards are another vital tool for maintaining a safe and secure campus. The National School Safety Center says when students and staff are required to wear school ID badges, it can help create a sense of unity on campus. Also, some campuses suggest that requiring all students and staff to wear a badge makes unauthorized visitors immediately obvious. When outsiders are instantly recognized, students and staff have that much more time to implement their appropriate responses. Staff can also use their Smart ID Card for punching the time clock and accessing secure doors.
Students can mark themselves as present and accounted for each time they attend a class or other school function. Smart ID Cards take attendance automatically whenever they are tapped onto a card reader, which is typically installed right next to each classroom door. This data can be reviewed by administrators, providing valuable insights into the student population, their locations, and their punctuality. Knowing where your students are—whether in class or absent—equals safety.
Alternative Behavior Education
Alternative Behavior Education (ABE) is the third critical component of a robust school security plan. Today’s school counselors are a key piece of the school safety puzzle. In most cases, a teacher must initiate a contact between a troubled student and a counselor. When students act out in class, an ABE system allows the teacher to instantly submit a specific referral to the counselor. This allows a counselor to address the student and his or her behavior immediately, and to defuse the situation before it grows into a full-blown emergency.
ABE teaches better behavior and decision-making skills through digital lessons. The system will monitor a student’s behavioral progress throughout their career. Administrators and counselors gain access to powerful data-driven reports that quickly flag at-risk students. It gives teachers help as they monitor and chronicle a student’s development and support decision-making. The system also integrates student rewards, interventions, and tracking with PowerSchool®, one of the most popular student data systems in America.
ScholarChip Can Help You Deter Potential School Threats
As your school explores its best options for identifying and avoiding potential school threats, consider ScholarChip. With a proven track record of providing school security success, we have the expertise and technology to help your school as well. We can show you how easy it is to collect and leverage data to keep your campus safe. Our Visitor Management Systems help office staff maintain control over the flow of people into campus. ScholarChip’s Smart ID cards track the movements of all students and authorized personnel within the confines of campus. And our Alternative Behavior Education program supports all students as they learn what it means to become a healthy and productive member of society.
Call ScholarChip for More Information
ScholarChip can integrate all these tools and more on your campus to provide all your people with a safe learning environment where they can learn, work, and thrive. We work closely with school leadership across the country to create secure campus environments at all education levels. We know what it takes to build a safe campus, and we want to do the same at your location.
Whether you are an administrator or security director, we will be happy to talk to you about your campus and its unique security needs. Contact us today for a 1-on-1 demo to see how ScholarChip can help your school district curtail potential school threats!
