Security for Charter Schools: What a Comprehensive Security System Should Include

21 Feb Security for Charter Schools: What a Comprehensive Security System Should Include

With more freedom to design unique curricula and teaching methods, charter schools fill a unique role in the field of education. They provide families with additional learning options beyond their public school district without the additional cost of private school tuition. But no matter how excellent a charter’s school education program may be, if their security system doesn’t pass with flying colors as well, no parent will want to enroll their children at that school.

Why Your School Needs a Comprehensive Security System

Parents trust charter schools to keep their children safe. Yet every day, charter schools face a growing number of threats to the safety and security of their students, such as: 

1. 1. Student Violence: Whether it’s tripping someone in the lunchroom, pushing someone on the playground, or punching someone in the hallways, students of all ages have been known to resort to violence. But knowing their actions are being monitored even when an adult isn’t visible can make them think twice before acting on their frustrated or angry impulses. 
   2. Vandalism and Theft: With an abundance of staff and student personal property, as well as valuable school-owned resources, theft is an ever-present temptation at charter schools–one that’s likely to increase with the rising economic pressures families are facing. And without warning, something as ridiculous as a social media challenge can cause unprecedented numbers of vandalism of school property, even among normally well-behaved student populations. However, the right security measures can deter would-be thieves and vandals. They can also help hold the appropriate parties financially responsible so your limited school funds aren’t spent replacing or repairing school property.
   3. Natural Disasters: Fires, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes–there are natural disasters that threaten every climate. While no security system can stop mother nature, the right system can help keep your students and faculty safe and accounted for. 

• School Shootings: Sadly, school shootings are a regular occurrence in our country, and the numbers are growing each year. But your charter school’s security system can help prevent them and reduce the response times of law enforcement should the unthinkable ever happen. 

Thankfully, having a robust charter school security system can safeguard against these and other threats, leaving educators and administrators free to focus their time and resources on more important matters–like helping students achieve their academic potential.   

Key Components of a Comprehensive Charter School Security System

A strong charter school security system uses several layers of protection to keep your facilities, staff, and students safe. Here are the vital components:

1. 1. Video Surveillance
      Video surveillance is the foundation of your charter school’s security system. Some of the available features for cameras include high-definition recording, night vision, and motion detection. Your staff can’t watch every hallway or corner of the playground at every moment, but your video surveillance system can. Knowing their actions are being recorded encourages everyone to follow school rules.
   2. Access Control
      An access control system only permits authorized individuals to enter the school or certain designated areas within it through the use of keypads, access cards, and electronic locks at doors and gates. Advanced systems can even record entry and exit times, helping you know how long an individual was in a certain location and how frequently they go there. Tracking the movements of staff and students ensures no one is where they shouldn’t be and helps you know who is still in the building and where, should emergency strike. The system can also instantly lock doors or restrict access to certain parts of the building, providing a quicker response to threats.

• Monitored Security Alarms
  Alarms are available in a wide range of prices and with a wide range of functions, capable of detecting dangers such as suspicious motion, smoke and heat, carbon monoxide, glass break, and flooding.

1. Shooter Detection System (SDS)
   Using acoustic and infrared technologies, SDS sensors can accurately detect gunshots, differentiating them from other sounds. Once a gunshot is detected, the SDS automatically alerts emergency responders and notifies building occupants, saving precious seconds that could mean the difference between life or death in an active shooter situation. An SDS also reduces the disruption your school faces due if false reports are called in (an act known as “swatting”). Your school may be eligible for government grants to help finance your SDS. 
2. Staff and Student Training
   Where do they go if the fire alarms sound? What happens if a class is at recess during a lockdown? What steps should staff and students take to safeguard their personal belongings? No security system is complete without a designated plan for each undesirable scenario and adequate training to ensure your staff and students can safely follow each plan.
3. 24/7 Remote Monitoring
   Being able to monitor your school anytime and from anywhere not only allows you to know what’s happening while you’re away on field trips or administrative duties, but it also allows you to make sure your facilities stay safe after school hours and during spring and summer breaks. All it requires is a wifi connection, and you can have real-time notifications of anything happening on school grounds and the peace of mind such monitoring capacity brings. 
4. System Consolidation
   You don’t want your staff struggling to remember which provider to contact or having to learn different apps to control building access, video surveillance, remote monitoring, and shooter detection systems separately. Having all your security needs consolidated into one system (such as Zions Monitoring services) with one point of contact for service and one control app to learn, saves you time, money, and frustration. 

Prioritize More Than Just Safety With Your School’s Security System

While the physical safety of your staff and students is paramount to everything else, having a comprehensive security system in place for your charter school also gives parents and students peace of mind, which is vital for a healthy learning environment since no one can learn (or teach) to the best of their abilities if they feel unsafe or worried. Prioritizing safety is prioritizing learning, and that’s what your charter school is all about.

For expert advice on choosing the right security system for your school, contact us today. We look forward to helping design a custom solution tailored to your needs.