With the unprecedented increase in violent attacks associated with schools, teacher safety is a significant concern.  We need systems providing peace of mind and protection so teachers can focus on education. The feedback from teachers and SROs pointed to three classroom safety issues that needed to be addressed.

1) Peace of mind comes when all staff (not just first responders) know an alert’s location relative to where they are located so everyone will know which way to go and what to do.  

Imagine there is an emergency at a school or a business. Teachers identified that a top cause of stress and anxiety comes during emergencies when everyone knows there is a problem. Still, they are uncertain of the threat’s location relative to where they are located. How will they know which way to go or what to do if you don’t know where the danger is relative to where you are, and you are in an insecure location? The lack of information can result in people making bad decisions because they lack the information needed to make the right decisions.

Critical information becomes BAD information if it is delayed, requires repeating, or is not actionable:

Sirens
* Do not disseminate the nature or location of the problem.

Radios and Intercoms
* Requires lots of words to describe the emergency location.
* Depends on all staff members having access.
* Multiple people are trying to talk over one another.

Cameras
* Provide a fixed view for a limited number of people.
* No view for staff.

Door Lock Systems
* At any given time, some staff members are in insecure areas. They cannot move without the risk of being in harm’s way. {Cafeteria, Library, Gymnasium, etc.}

Alert Buttons & Texting Solution
* Does not identify an alert location seen at a distance.
* No visual map.
* If a staff member on the second floor spotted a shooter in the parking lot and pressed the alert button. Other staff members think the problem is on the second floor, and they might rush out into harm’s way. 

Active Defender uses GPS and GIS networked technology to provide every staff member with a real-time emergency map that removes the confusion. Everyone can report an emergency, and immediately, everyone can see the exact nature of the crisis and the exact reported emergency location on a map.  Everyone can know where to go and what to do regardless of the emergency. 

2) Teachers reported the need to quickly and easily register their status without giving away their position to perpetrators.  Many teachers said that their schools required them to place a red or a green card in the window or under the door to signify their status to school staff and responders. This was a great concern since it would signify someone in the room where they might be hiding.

We updated Active Defender to include panic buttons for instant notifications and to report the staff’s status instantly. They can mark themselves as OK or in need of help. A situational awareness map with live data provides the details to school administrators and responders. This not only provides peace of mind for the teachers but allows responders to know where to go and what to do quickly. The administrators and responders can also directly connect via voice or chat to the staff member reporting an alert.

3) Last but not least in our top three: was the fact that teachers and students reported: they would be sent alert messages that did not get their attention. Imagine someone trying to text you an alert message while you are driving. You have received several other text messages by the time you stop, and the vital alert message is buried in the stack. 

Active Defender 2022 allows the school administrator, school resource officer (SRO), or responder to send a message to one or a group of people as a CRITICAL ALERT MESSAGE. A critical alert message is the equivalent of a presidential alert, amber alert, or weather alert. This provides peace of mind to the teacher as now it is unmistakable that they have received a critical message, and often life-saving details will not be lost or delayed.

Learn more about Active Defender and set up a demo to see firsthand how it can provide peace of mind to your teachers and all your staff.

Active-Defender.com