school access control

  As 2023 came to a close, the United States surpassed a grim milestone: another record high for school shootings. It’s the third year in a row that school violence has outpaced the previous year, as more than 340 school shootings have added to a national crisis that seems unending. While each incident is unique,

  Schools have moved away from an open front door environment where parents and delivery personnel can freely walk into a lobby. Administrators can now incorporate locked entrances where people can only enter the building after initially being vetted by staff. Implementing two-way intercom systems at the school entrance provides an important first layer of

  By Thomas Carnevale Educational facilities require a secured learning environment. Implementing efficient education and school security systems is a top priority to ensure the safety of students, teachers, staff, and others within the school premises. This task requires a balance between creating a welcoming learning environment for students and implementing sound security solutions that

  School shootings are incredibly tragic and life-altering, although, thankfully, statistically rare. According to The Final Report of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, “There has never been an event in which an active shooter breached a locked classroom door.” It’s important to carefully consider your options for securing your classrooms rather than purchasing cost-saving solutions

  By Terence W. Kirby If your attitude is, “It can’t happen here,” you are fooling yourself. Columbine and Sandy Hook are just the incidents we hear about. There are thousands more every year that do not make the national news, directly affecting both public and private schools, and many pose a threat to the

  Feeling safe in your environment is a necessary requirement for growth and development. However, with the constant negative news cycle, it’s hard to feel safe anywhere, especially in school. Dozens of shootings have already occurred in schools across the country this year, and children are acutely aware of the danger. This environment not only

  By Paul Bodell Unfortunately, controlling access in schools is no longer an option. Administrators need to ensure that students, staff and authorized visitors can get into the schools and areas they’re allowed to be in, while at the same time making sure restricted areas are protected and any unwanted visitors are kept out. The

  By Rick Focke Protecting students and staff inside and on school property has been at the forefront of the security industry, as the entire industry has worked diligently to implement new policies and additional security technologies to prevent mass shootings, stop vandalism and bullying, and detect students who are vaping on school property. Overall,

  By Evan Starkey Today, school security and the safety of students and staff is one of the most important topics in our country. Recent tragedies have highlighted the need for schools to take a look at current practices and policies in place to help make their schools safer and more efficient in the future.

  By Nigel Waterton For many school administrators today, risk assessments are necessary to examine how schools handle emergency response, security vulnerabilities, and incident management. Along with fostering supportive and creative learning environments, schools are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of students, staff, and faculty at any given time. Because of this very

  By Douglas Parisi The motivations, weapons, locations, and response to a hostile event are unpredictable. The most important aspect is having a plan of action in place. This plan is based on the aspects of getting away from harm, preventing an intruder from getting to your faculty and students and being able to protect

  By Paul Messenger Not long ago, security concerns for most schools involved student conflicts, vandalism, theft and liability — now, the foremost concern is life safety. School shootings have become a major motivator for improving the security of school districts in the United States. Increasing outbreaks of active shooter and other security incidents in

  By Lynn Wood While privacy issues are a concern for school-age children, there is a need for information to be collected about students in a safe and secure manner — and one of those reasons is security. The incorporation of data into a school’s overall security plan is essential — especially if access control

By Jeffrey Coates When in imminent danger, use the simplest means of arriving at the desired result. Both my partner and I have worked in a tactical and, many times, violent environment for more than 35 years. Over the years, we have added many insightful lessons we were able to put away into our future