Most campuses do not exist in a vacuum. They are part of a broader community like a town, a borough, a city, a county, or a state. As such, there are a host of external resources available to help them through a crisis: from emergency responders such as police, EMTs and firefighters to mental health counselors, local emergency management departments, and media outlets.
- By Dean Cunningham
- September 03, 2024
Laton Unified School District (LUSD) is a K-12 school district in Laton, Calif, located just south of Fresno in California's Central Valley. LUSD is comprised of four schools that serve about 700 students total. It's campus includes a preschool, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. As a small district with limited resources, LUSD was struggling to maintain its aging surveillance infrastructure across the district schools. Video cameras are a vital component of keeping students and faculty safe, yet the cost to maintain these systems was prohibitive.
- By Steve Prodger
- August 28, 2024
An overwhelming majority (96%) of parents in the United States support a mandate requiring schools to share security cameras with 911 Communications Centers during emergencies, according to a survey of K-12 parents. A federal mandate was preferred by 56% of parents, 29% wanted a community-level requirement, and 11% favored a school district mandate.
Mobile credentials, or the use of smartphones or other mobile devices to access secure areas, are increasingly considered as an alternative to traditional keycards and ID badges in schools. However, while mobile credentials offer several advantages, such as convenience and cost savings, there are also potential drawbacks to their use. To help aid schools in improving safety measures, let us explore the pros and cons of using mobile credentials for school safety and explain why it is important to always have multiple options in place.
- By Andrew Schonzeit
- August 01, 2024
Parking: for many, it’s an everyday fact of life. Whenever we drive somewhere, we must consider parking, and often, that parking experience sets our mood and expectations for the rest of the journey. Whether a quick grocery store pickup or long-term airport parking, the parking lot is an integral part of whatever type of campus you’re visiting. This includes destinations like retail stores, your local high school, hospitals, and the park-and-ride systems present in major cities.
- By Drew Pacino
- July 18, 2024
The opioid crisis is escalating across the United States, increasingly affecting all segments of the population, including students on K-12 and college campuses. As the threat from opioids, especially fentanyl, becomes more widespread, it's critical for schools to have naloxone available—an antidote for opioid overdoses. This article discusses why naloxone should be as common as Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in educational settings.
- By Ross Seeley
- July 17, 2024
Video surveillance is one of the most common security measures implemented by educational institutions today, but installing cameras is just the beginning. Adopting a holistic, comprehensive approach to video surveillance is a more effective way to safeguard campus communities and fully realize the value of your investment in physical security systems.
- By Bruce Canal
- July 16, 2024
With summer underway, K-12 and college students, faculty, and staff are taking a well-earned break to recharge and gear up for the fall. It’s also the season when security professionals can get in and get busy installing upgrades and retrofits before the new school year starts. It’s a brief window, but, thanks to diligent planning throughout the year, the pros are always ready to hit the ground running at the last bell of spring term to make the most out of the limited time available.
- By Jeremy Saline
- July 15, 2024
The former Uvalde school police chief and another former school officer were both indicted Thursday over their role in the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting. That’s according to the Associated Press.
Today, Convergint celebrates its 23rd Annual Convergint Social Responsibility Day, as nearly 10,000 colleagues across 220 global locations have the opportunity to spend the workday giving back to their local communities. This year’s efforts have resulted in a total payroll donation of more than $3 million and more than $500,000 in labor and equipment donations from Convergint colleagues, partners, and families. Additionally, 400 colleagues and partners will help complete the company’s largest STEP Up project to-date for the Douglas County School District in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Campus Security Today is pleased to announce the 2024 Secure Campus Award winners. Twenty-six companies are being recognized this year for products that help keep education and business campuses safe.
Public anxieties about school safety are escalating across the country. According to a 2023 Gallup report, 44% of parents fear for their child’s physical safety at school, a 10 percentage-point increase since 2019. Unfortunately, these fears are likely to increase if the incidence of school tragedies continues to mount. As a result, school leaders are now charged with two non-negotiable responsibilities. The first, as always, is to ensure kids have what they need to learn, grow, and thrive. Sadly, their second responsibility is to keep the children in their care safe from threats and physical danger.
- By Jason Russell, Ron Boezwinkle
- May 16, 2024
In a perfect world, every school would have an unlimited budget to help secure their schools. In reality, schools must prioritize what budget they have while navigating the complexities surrounding school security and lockdown
Ensuring the safety of students and employees is critical in today’s educational environment. While the threat of a school shooting is in the back of everyone’s mind, the truth is there are many possible scenarios that could crop up at any time in classrooms, hallways, and other school spaces—from fights or altercations to a sick child or staff member who requires emergency attention.
- By Shaun Fagan , Jason Gale
- May 08, 2024
For more than 30 years, I’ve been fully immersed in security operations in K-12 schools, including working in school safety in Littleton, Colorado during the attack at Columbine High School in 1999. That incident, coupled with those before and since, underscores the critical need for continued improvement in safety and security measures in our schools. Thankfully, ongoing advancements in security technology enable prompt response to critical threats as well as daily operational efficiency
The diverse and dynamic campus environments of modern post-secondary institutions rely on multiple systems and processes to ensure campus security and operational efficiency.
- By Bruce Canal
- May 08, 2024
Emerging solutions in campus access control can mean different things. Usually, we expect the topic to focus on the very latest in door security products and solutions that have just been recently released or are about to be launched. After all, staying up on improvements to keep campuses safer is critical. Plus, it’s always interesting and exciting to learn what’s new and how innovations are going to better protect lives and assets and help the industry be even more successful.
- By Tyler Webb
- May 08, 2024
Teachers are an unmistakably vital part of the K-12 school security equation. And survey results released by Pew Research in April help shine a new light on how teachers view school shooting and security.
- By Brent Dirks
- May 08, 2024
Whether working on a corporate or education campus, the video surveillance solution required to best protect it will vary vastly depending on location, application and specific security needs. Yet there are ways to segment a campus environment based on specific zones of protection to aid in the selection of the most suitable surveillance equipment for each area.
One of the driving forces for change has been the high demand for unified solutions. Users are asking their vendors for a way to manage all their security systems through a single interface, from a single pane. This has led to a flurry of software development to seamlessly integrate access control systems with video surveillance, intrusion detection, visitor management, health monitoring, analytics with artificial intelligence (AI), and more.
- By Rob Druktenis
- April 30, 2024