The multitude of options when selecting a school safety platform can be overwhelming. Whether exploring ways to integrate with your existing infrastructure or searching for entirely new solutions, it’s crucial to understand what factors to consider when choosing.

Comprehensive Safety Features

The first aspect to consider when choosing a school safety platform is whether it offers comprehensive safety features. Here are some key examples:

• Emergency Communication: Ensure the platform provides multiple communication channels (SMS, email, push notifications) for sending emergency alerts.
• Incident Reporting: Look for features that allow anonymous reporting of bullying, threats, or other concerns.
• Crisis Management: Evaluate tools for managing and documenting crisis responses, including checklists, plans, and resource management.
• Real-time Monitoring: Check for real-time monitoring capabilities, such as live custom dynamic mapping, which allows you to see the location where an emergency was reported.

Active Defender’s Crisis Clarity

Active Defender’s Crisis Clarity enables staff to send and receive critical alerts on any device across the campus, similar to Presidential or Amber Alerts. It provides a custom live map with multi-level floor plans, allowing quick emergency reporting from anywhere. In life-threatening situations, staff can instantly update their status from “Green” (I Am Okay) to “Red” (Need Help), aiding first responders and reducing response times.

Customization

The second consideration is whether the school safety platform allows for scalability and customization. Since every school or district has unique needs, choosing a platform that can accommodate these differences and adapt accordingly is essential.

• Customization: The platform should offer customization options to fit the specific needs and protocols of the school or district.
• Scalability: Ensure the platform can grow with the school or district and adapt to evolving safety requirements.

Integration Capabilities

The third consideration when choosing a school safety platform is its integration capabilities. Can the platform integrate with;

• Existing Systems: Ensure the platform can integrate seamlessly with the school’s existing systems (e.g., security systems and communication tools).
• Interoperability: Look for compatibility with local law enforcement, emergency services, and other relevant agencies.

Active Defender’s Integration Capabilities

Active Defender integrates with existing systems such as door locks, cameras, and panic buttons, providing comprehensive security coverage. It enhances situational awareness for first responders, alerts local authorities with detailed information, and reduces response times.

Implementation Support

The fourth and final consideration is the support for implementing and maintaining the school safety platform. 

• Implementation Support: Assess the level of support provided for initial setup and deployment.
• Timeframe: Consider the time required to implement the platform and any potential disruption to school activities.
• Customer Support: Inquire about customer service after implementation. Will you receive a Point of Contact (POC) throughout your contract? What is the response time of the helpline? 

Active Defender’s 24/7 Customer Support

At Active Defender, every customer is assigned a POC who walks them through the implementation process and stays by their side throughout their contract to answer any questions or concerns and notify them of new feature updates.

Who is Active Defender?

Active Defender’s School Safety Platform revolutionizes emergency alerting and communication and provides the most comprehensive situational awareness available during a crisis. With Active Defender, ALL staff can immediately know WHAT the threat is, WHERE it is, understand WHAT TO DO, and REPORT their STATUS on a custom, dynamic campus map on their mobile device.

To learn more, visit Active Defender or take the first step in enhancing your school’s safety today by booking an interactive demo!