The Wyoming school district will try a new security system that allows students, teachers or visitors to activate an alarm that immediately alerts law-enforcement officers and pinpoints the location of the alarm within the building. The BluePoint Alert system will soon be installed at the district's four secondary schools.
This webcast explained how a new generation of security cameras is changing the way school leaders think about video surveillance, with systems that can be managed from an intuitive, web-based dashboard without extra servers or software required.
December 14, 2012 was a day that shook the country to its core. But it was also a day that fundamentally changed the way first responders and citizens approach the unimaginable. Law enforcement implemented the same rapid response program across multiple agencies so responders can get in front of the shooter as soon as possible. […]
Years ago, it was easy for districts to ignore what high average daily-attendance numbers can conceal: kids, sometimes lots of them, who miss weeks of school every year. The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act has changed that calculus. For the first time, the law requires states to report chronic-absenteeism rates, and more than two-thirds of […]
YONKERS, N.Y.—Brian Schulder, the security and safety director at Yonkers Public Schools, considers himself an educator, first and foremost. He's not some hardened, former city beat cop or detective—he's spent a majority of his 20-plus years in this large urban district teaching and coaching. "I think being an educator lets me see things from a perspective […]
Most schools have adopted emergency plans to respond to active shooter events. But in a new book, Amanda Klinger reports that these plans often don't address more likely situations such as severe weather, chemical spills or health crises. Most schools have adopted emergency plans to respond to active shooter events. But Amanda Klinger says these plans often […]
The alarming rate of school shootings in recent years has led to the creation of emergency notification systems that can send various types of messages to multiple devices, including live videos to law enforcement. Administrators have more control of their messages, including the ability to determine who has received and read them. One system even […]
School investigations—whether at a private or public high school, or other institution—pose special problems for school administrators and counsel. The risks are often high, and school leaders, even those well-versed in the typical legal issues affecting their institutions, may be inexperienced in conducting investigations. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, here are six best practices […]
District CIOs recommend following the Cybersecurity Framework created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. The model recommends five functions to address cybersecurity threats. Identify: Understand your systems, assets, data and people, and know your at-risk areas. Protect: Develop a security plan and outline safeguards—such as identity management, authentication, encryption and student/staff […]
When securing edtech infrastructure, district leaders must concentrate on six "layers": physical, network, applications, content, endpoint and cloud/data centers, according to a 2017 report by the Council of the Great City Schools. "More than ever, schools are a 'wink-wink' among the industry when it comes to cybersecurity vulnerability" says Robert Dillon, director of innovative learning […]
