New School Safety Tool from Blackboard Supports K-12 Districts with Crisis Management Response

Blackboard today announced the launch of Blackboard SafetyList, a crisis management response platform that helps school district leaders coordinate the internal teams responsible for preparing for and managing safety and security incidents.

Powered by Groupdolists, Blackboard SafetyList turns paper plans into action plans, rapidly mobilizes internal response teams, tracks tasks in real-time, reduces fragmented communications, and records all activity in a real-time audit trail, all to assist school districts with their efforts to ensure that school responders are tightly coordinated, in-sync and accountable. The tool includes a library of over 45 pre-built crisis response checklists to help coordinate team efforts in an emergency. It also provides a tap to join conference bridge for keeping open lines of communication across an entire campus crisis response team, as well as incident logging for simple, accurate post-incident analysis.

SafetyList is one component of Blackboard's comprehensive School Safety solution, which also provides physical security and communication solutions to help districts prepare for and effectively manage crisis-based incidents. Easily managed through a web browser application, it offers many technologies designed for school campuses and to aid with quick communication with the broader education community, including:

  • Camera Surveillance: Equipment districts can use to help them keep track of what's happening in their schools from one centralized camera monitoring location. 
  • Active Incident Website: School systems can convey the important information their communities need during a crisis through a single crisis website. 
  • Locks & Access Control: Facilitate access for buildings, classes, labs and more with a single click. 
  • Communication Tools: Administrations can share relevant news and timely updates with families and community members through a native branded app and mass notifications.

"To be such a critical component in the Blackboard SafetyList platform is a testament to our mission to help protect people, assets, and reputation during unexpected incidents," says Michael J. Sher, CEO of Groupdolists. "Our team is incredibly passionate about building tools that help organizations mobilize and coordinate response teams better, smarter and faster than ever before, and the fit with SafetyList makes so much sense."

"Maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for students and staff is a top priority for school district leaders nationwide, but many of them are struggling with how to navigate the complex safety challenges in today's environment," said Marc Rubner, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Blackboard. "Blackboard is proud to offer robust tools that help school systems use the power of technology to meet these needs. We look forward to working with school districts nationwide to assist them with their safety and security efforts."

Featured

  • Ensuring School Bus Safety: Tech-Driven Advancements and Their Impact on Student Transportation

    Parents and school districts have always shared one fundamental, non-negotiable goal: to keep students safe while traveling to and from school. Period. Read Now

  • How Campus Security Became an Art of Disappearing

    Walk across any university campus at 8:47 a.m. on a Tuesday, and you'll witness something remarkable. Thousands of students stream through buildings, carrying everything from vintage MacBooks to oversized coffee cups, lost in conversations about weekend plans or upcoming exams. If the right weapons detection is in place, most will never notice the sophisticated security measures protecting them. This invisibility can represent the highest achievement in modern campus security design. Read Now

  • Torrance USD Standardizes Its Mass Communications

    The Torrance Unified School District is a cornerstone of the Torrance, Calif. community, dedicated to providing a high-quality education that prepares students for success in college, career, and life. Serving a diverse student population, Torrance USD delivers a comprehensive and enriching educational experience from kindergarten through high school. The school district comprises 17 elementary, eight middle, and five high schools, one continuation high school, and one alternative high school.  Read Now

  • How a Rural School District Enhanced Safety, Reduced Vaping, and Improved Efficiency by Modernizing Security

    As educational leaders, our primary mission is creating safe, productive learning environments where our students can thrive. Today, that unfortunately means addressing ever-evolving challenges that range from security threats to the growing epidemic of student vaping, all while managing tight budgets and (for many of us) geographically dispersed facilities. Read Now