Key points:
In the Little Rock School District, the second largest district in Arkansas, we serve 21,200 students in 48 schools and centers with a workforce of 4,000 employees. One of the most important issues for our district is how we can create and implement best school safety practices to protect our students, staff, and educators.
We are constantly evaluating and improving our systems. Our analysis showed us that replacing our mobile panic button app with wearable panic buttons for our staff could better support and protect our school communities.
Issues with Implementing Panic Button Mobile Apps for School Safety
Initially, we implemented a mobile panic button application to meet the requirements of the School Safety Act. Implemented in 2015, the School Safety Act required all Arkansas schools to use a particular cellphone-based school safety app for staff to report emergencies. When we implemented the mobile panic button app, we hoped that it would help us address security issues. However, there were immediate and widespread problems with its adoption and implementation. Many staff members did not want to add the app on their personal devices and did not see its value. Among our 4,000 employees, only 20 percent downloaded the app. Teachers felt that dialing 911 was easier than accessing and using a mobile panic button app. Staff also shared concerns about privacy and how reliable the app would be in areas of campus without Wi-Fi coverage.
After the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022, the governor of Arkansas signed an executive order creating the Arkansas School Safety Commission. This commission provided school safety recommendations and allocated additional funds to implement them. The recommendations included:
- Provide master keys to local authorities
- Create an information sharing program for cybersecurity incidents
- Perform routine security checks without prior notice
- Establish a statewide school safety tip line
To find new strategies and technologies for our district, our superintendent attended a safety conference and learned about portable panic buttons.
How portable panic buttons work
The solution is used as a staff ID card, allowing any staff member to quickly and discreetly send a help signal that instantly reaches administrators and responders. The one-button solution can send alerts to first responders on campus, such as an SRO, assistant principal, or nurse, or initiate a full campus lockdown and notify the local police department or 911.
Benefits of portable panic buttons
Our security team at the Little Rock School District began looking into portable panic button solutions to see if they could increase the percentage of staff members equipped with the means to get help in a crisis. After researching portable solutions, we realized they offered significant benefits compared to our mobile panic app, including:
- Being faster and easier to use in emergencies than mobile panic button applications: When seconds matter, our staff members don't have time to search for an app on their phones or try to remember how to use it. They may not always have their phone nearby either. Portable panic buttons are always on, accessible and easy to use under pressure, with a single button to initiate an alert.
- Address privacy concerns: Staff prefer portable solutions because they do not need to be downloaded to their personal phones to function. Credential-based options help maintain staff privacy because they do not need to be connected to a personal device. Badges also share location information only after a staff member sends an alert.
- Badge-based panic buttons help reduce response times: Leading portable panic buttons can be integrated with sophisticated security platforms, notifying emergency response teams of the exact location of the incident on a digital map of the campus.
- Complete Campus Coverage: The main badge-based panic button we selected does not require cellular service or Wi-Fi. The badge can also activate full campus-wide visual and audio communication during an emergency lockdown, notifying everyone on campus of a security threat.
Positive Teacher and Staff Responses to Wearable Panic Buttons
After we adopted the badge system, teachers and staff responded positively. Our district saw 100 percent user adoption of our wearable badge-based panic buttons..
In addition to increasing adoption and usage, implementing security improvements has been helpful for staff retention. Many district staff have mentioned that they feel more protected and safe at work thanks to mobile panic buttons. Security technology has also helped with our efforts to recruit new educators.
Implementing new protocol for workplace safety has had wide-ranging benefits for our schools and has allowed us to better support our students and staff.
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