As K-12 campuses are gearing up to welcome back students, smart school safety is top of mind. These buildings are daily havens for the most precious and vulnerable members of society, and now is the time to ensure protections are in place against accidents, injuries and emergency situations.
Though it’s easy to jump to worst-case scenarios, less than a third of school safety incidents are gun-related. However, there are a multitude of risks on campus that administrators and educators need to be aware of: fighting, trip/slip/fall accidents, kitchen equipment mishaps, and more.
Many schools are proactively considering risk mitigation, adopting smart technologies that not only deter and prevent incidents, but have the capacity to offer real-time emergency responses in the event of an incident. Thanks to a wide range of smart school safety tech, school districts and administrators have more options than ever for monitoring and preventing incidents on campus and transportation.
Here are some examples that are ready to deploy with the right networking infrastructure in place.
Wi-Fi Enabled Security Cameras
Surveillance cameras already cover over 90 percent of school facilities, but most incumbent technology is hardwired, running on ethernet cabling throughout the school campus. This limits visibility because some areas are hard to reach with hard-wired solutions—outdoors on playgrounds and parking lots, for example.
Assuming robust Wi-Fi is available, modern wireless cameras can be placed anywhere quickly and cost-effectively. Just as a homeowner can easily mount a Ring camera at their front door, wireless cameras can be deployed across campus to monitor secluded locations or supplement existing hardwired systems with very little time and effort, making them extremely budget-friendly for districts, buildings, sports venues and transportation.
Connected door locks for enhanced entry security
Requiring students, staff and visitors to validate their identity by swiping a keycard to access campus or even specific classrooms can prevent unauthorized access. This supports smart school safety and reduces the risk of intruders and keeps students and visitors out of restricted areas to prevent vandalism and attendance issues.
Already, four out of five school administrators say they’ve implemented upgrades to door lock technology over the last two years, and upgrading locks and door hardware top the list of planned purchases in the next two. Just like with security cameras, having fast, reliable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity throughout the facility can make these upgrades more economical and feasible. It can even extend coverage to more doors that might not be practical for hardwiring, such as annexes and outbuildings.
Occupancy Monitoring & “People Counting”
Knowing who is where and when adds accountability for who is coming and going into the school and is essential in the event of an emergency, whether it’s a fire drill, an earthquake, or a suspicious absence from class. Students and faculty can be identified and tracked to a specific location in the schools or on grounds with ID badges used for access control to enter rooms and buildings and even parking lots.
Using smart cameras equipped with AI capabilities and facial recognition can help automatically assure school staff that everyone is where they’re supposed to be in any situation and alert them if they’re not (a student is missing at the rally point after a fire drill, for example). This can also help to streamline and promote attendance—by using AI to analyze building entry and classroom presence, school administrators can automate roll calls and have simple validation for attendance tracking.
Staff safety alert devices
Students aren’t the only people school administrators need to protect. Staff are important to consider when it comes to smart school safety too, whether it be a volatile situation with a student or simply an accident, like a slip and fall. Not to mention, service personnel are often present in the building late at night, alone, and even a small accident could be devastating if they’re not attended to right away.
Safety alert devices worn by staff can help to provide peace of mind and quicker response in the event of an emergency. These Wi-Fi-connected wearables can provide push-button access and fall detection to report an incident with built-in tracking to help responders find the individual right away. With broad Wi-Fi coverage throughout campus, staff never has to feel alone or vulnerable.
Secure, Automated Garage Systems
School buses these days are more than rolling extensions of the classroom for homework time on wheels. Many feature advanced Internet of Things (IoT) and telematics to monitor vehicle performance, engine diagnostics and maintenance needs. These onboard tools can alert maintenance staff to issues before a breakdown or failure occurs, reducing the risk of harm to students and risk to the equipment, helping to keep the fleet running safely and on schedule.
These smart bus solutions depend on reliable Wi-Fi service to connect to the onboard equipment, yet many districts overlook the need for technology in their bus barns and garages. Deploying scalable Wi-Fi in maintenance areas allows districts to fully utilize their fleet’s capabilities and extend their investment by performing predictive maintenance. This can always be used to download video from on-board cameras for investigative purposes or to address behavioral concerns.
Advanced Authentication & Identity Management
The network itself could be vulnerable to security risks without the right precautions. An unprotected network could give hackers access to not only student and staff Personal Identifiable Information (PII) but also the potential to hijack browsers or educational software and even hack into equipment like fire suppression, HVAC or physical security to wreak havoc.
Having robust firewalls, malware detection and automated authentication of known users can enhance network security and improve the reliability of smart safety technology, further reducing risk overall. Network segmentation is also a smart security strategy, separating student and administrative networks to contain any potential breach.
While there’s no shortage of technology available, systems integration is one of the biggest issues school technology administrators face, with many finding it “very” or “extremely” challenging to get their systems to work together. The first step to overcoming the issue is to deploy robust, reliable Wi-Fi solutions that connect quickly and simply to virtually any device.
With high availability and high-bandwidth Wi-Fi, schools can leverage the latest in safety solutions without the need to install and maintain miles of cabling. Plus, they can deploy safety solutions in areas where hardwire networking isn’t practical and ensure campus-wide safety for everyone.
Supporting Smart School Safety
How can you make this back to school season the safest yet? Nomadix offers secure, scalable network solutions for K-12 education that support smart school safety. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions concerning your school connectivity and security needs.
Angela Quinn is the Senior Director of Business Development – the Americas for Nomadix, an ASSA ABLOY company. She brings over 20 years of experience to her role and an extensive background in Cloud Analytics Software, Networking, Wireless, Data Center, and Security Software Solutions.
This article originally appeared in Today’s Modern Educator.