Verkada Partners with Safe and Sound Schools

  • April 30, 2025

The first initiative as partners included a joint fundraising campaign to enhance school safety, generating $42,000 for Safe and Sound Schools programs.

Cloud-based security company, Verkada, has partnered with Safe and Sound Schools. The national non-profit organization dedicated to protecting school communities through crisis prevention, response and recovery.

Safe and Sound Schools is an organization founded by parents of children lost from the Sandy Hook shooting provides research-based tools and support for crisis prevention, response and recovery. Schools face unique challenges when it comes to safety and security. From emergency readiness to daily monitoring, creating a safe environment demands both proactive planning and reliable technology.

Verkada's technology protects more than 17 million students today with its fully integrated hardware and software solution. Verkada's six integrated product lines allow schools to:

  • Lock down doors in seconds while still allowing first responders access.
  • Detect vaping and bullying using sensor technology to identify vape smoke and elevated noise levels in bathrooms and locker rooms.
  • Monitor school premises in a privacy-sensitive way by blurring the faces detected in live streams of camera footage (faces can be unblurred at a moment's notice if an incident occurs).
  • Respond quickly to threats with custom alerts and tools — including wireless panic buttons.
  • Detect unusual activity, verify the threat, and initiate an immediate response.
  • Prevent unauthorized visitors using security screens with cloud-based visitor management that integrates with cameras and access control.

Share live camera feeds of incidents with law enforcement for real-time action when necessary.

"Comprehensive school safety takes all of us—and we're deeply grateful to everyone in the Safe and Sound community for their unwavering commitment to this work and to our mission," said Michele Gay, founder and executive director at Safe and Sound Schools. "Together, we're creating safer, more supportive learning environments every day, including through the thoughtful use of technology to implement a layered approach to the safety challenges our schools face."

"Safe and Sound Schools is a powerful voice for school safety, and we're honored to work alongside them to further our commitment to school safety," said Alana O'Grady, vice president of Public Affairs at Verkada. "By aligning our efforts with their evidence-based programs and comprehensive best practices, we aim to help schools prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises more effectively—ultimately, supporting educators and students where it matters most."

The first initiative as partners included a joint fundraising campaign to enhance school safety, generating $42,000 for Safe and Sound Schools programs.

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