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School Safety: Experts in Creating a Safer Community

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Video Transcript

Slide 1:

I’d like to welcome to this webinar. I am Alan Welch, Director of Sales at KTS.

We develop recorded webinars for your convenience. Today’s recorded webinar is on School Safety.

Thank you for joining. If you have any questions or are interested in future webinars, please visit our website at kts dash inc dot com, or follow the instructions at the end of the presentation.

Let’s get started.

Slide 2:

The reality today is that due to the increase in school violence, students and teachers need to train in a way that was never thought about before.

While there are techniques being taught of what to do including ALICE training, our focus today is educating you about the technical solutions available that when integrated with each other, improve the security at a school – whether the school is one building or a sprawling university setting.

We offer the expertise and technical ability to help with improving school safety. From elite universities to local public schools, we work with you as a partner in addressing the overarching question that we all want to answer:  How do we keep our kids safe?

Slide 3

There are 3 parts of today’s webinar.

First I will briefly introduce KTS since you should be confident and comfortable with the vendors handling the communications aspect of your school’s security, making sure they have the expertise and proven track record to work with you on this important issue.

Next I will review the 6 essential elements of a comprehensive safety plan and

Finally, I will talk briefly about the steps in the process to help your school address noted gaps or plan for upgrades.

Slide 4

So let’s get started and let me tell you a bit about KTS

Slide 5

KTS has been in business over 35 years, earning a reputation for outstanding service combined with craftsmanship and best-in-class technologies.

We are located in Stoneham MA and serve our clients throughout New England and across the United States as they expand.

Education is one of our specialty markets where we have been serving the needs of leading educational institutions for decades. Our education clients include Groton School, Bentley University, Berklee School of Music, MIT and Boston College to name a few.

We are experts in network cabling, wireless networks, security and audio visual solutions.

We support our clients from initial planning through installation to bring our insight and expertise with a commitment to designing the best solution to meet your needs and your budget.

Slide 6

This is a visual of our areas of expertise.

Although our services are all encompassing, infrastructure, planning, wireless networks and A/V systems will be the topics of future presentations.

Slide 7

Today we are focused on two specific areas of KTS’ expertise relevant to school safety:  cellular bdas and security solutions.  We will discuss how both areas factor into developing a comprehensive security solution.

Slide 8

So let’s get started with discussing the 6 essential security elements for school safety.

Slide 9

6 elements are essential to having a comprehensive school safety solution.

Depending on your school environment (one building vs. multiple buildings, or an expansive university campus vs. small collegiate campus), select elements may be more important for you to assess what you have in place and what you may need.

I am going to discuss in detail 4 of the 6 elements which are relevant for all schools – from public elementary, middle and high schools to private schools and universities. I will talk about common gaps or deficiencies for each of these security components whether an urban or suburban setting and how these gaps can be solved.

It is important to remember that our world has changed quickly and you are not alone in assessing your school safety situation and trying to prioritize what is needed to address potential risks.

Slide 10

Cell Coverage

The key question here is – do you have reliable coverage?  In the case of an emergency situation at your school, can you confidently answer yes and at all locations across campus?

The reality is most schools can’t answer yes and I have listed common areas that are at risk. The gym , tennis courts, parking lots, or hockey rink.  These areas are usually assembly points during emergency situations.

Imagine there is an active shooter at your school and you cannot confidently confirm everyone is aware and safe? A lockdown is in process and you need assurance that everyone is aware of what’s going on.

Think of the situations where a student is in an area and can’t call 911 because there is no cell coverage; and they can’t notify their parent that they are ok.  This is a huge deficiency and, for most schools, it is the number one safety priority that needs to be addressed.

Slide 11

Critical Element #1 Cellular BDAs or bi-directional amplifiers.  KTS regularly designs and installs cellular BDAs in schools, across campuses and in all kinds of environments from hospitals to office buildings. This technology delivers reliable cell coverage where coverage is poor or unreliable.  We have enabled schools to now confidently know that students and staff can make a phone call to 911 or receive a text notifying them of a situation when in the gym, hockey rink, stairwells, parking lot or remote fields. We understand you may not want students on their phones during class, but when it comes to safety, cellular BDAs are not only an essential item, they are the #1 element that most schools need to improve the safety of their students and staff.

Slide 12

Mass Notification:

Schools tend to have very good mass notification capabilities in place – auto calls tend to be set up for notification of a snow day; emails are sent out and everyone is reached outside of the school.  Within the school is an area that we commonly find schools are evaluating.  Common deficiencies can be that within the building there is reliance on the phone system to place a call.  This is too slow in the event of an emergency situation.  We have found some school clients needed training on how to confidently use the systems in place.

Slide 13

Critical Element #2 – Mass Notification

For schools, we design and install paging systems. We also train them on how to use the equipment!

If you feel you have the right capability when it comes to mass notification, but you lack knowledge of how to use it – the good news is that is an easy and inexpensive problem to solve. Make a note and get that training scheduled to improve your school safety plan.

We recently installed a system for a college in downtown Boston to ensure mass notifications reach everyone in the buildings – we designed the systems and installed the wiring and speakers for this deficiency to be fixed.

Slide 14

Video Surveillance

Most schools have video surveillance systems in place. The common issues here are that the cameras are outdated, the technology is old and there are gaps in what is being captured. It is well worth the time to monitor recent surveillance video – could the police rely on the video quality from your existing cameras? Do you have areas of your school or  campus where cameras are needed?  We highly recommend you review the quality of your video, assess if you need to upgrade equipment and make sure areas not currently included are added for a comprehensive solution.

Slide 15

Critical Element #3 – Video Surveillance

Video surveillance is the “eyes of security”. Having a reliable system with cameras strategically placed to cover all angles including interior and exterior views such as doorways and common areas is essential for three key reasons:

– Real time information:  the images are captured, a situation can be assessed and acted upon as it is happening. This saves critical time possibly saving lives

– A record of what happened: video surveillance also records the events to help capture the what, when, and where supporting possible inquiries and investigations. This can be important for many situations ranging from bullying to a fire, an active shooter or locating a wandering student.

– Deterring crime – video surveillance can help deter crimes “just by being visible”

KTS is expert at designing and deploying surveillance systems to minimize and deter situations, and if they unfortunately do happen, you’ll have a record of it.

Slide 16

Access Control is an important aspect of a comprehensive school safety plan.  There is not an easy solution, but as we have seen at colleges and private schools, we expect we will continue to be designing and implementing access control systems at our public schools. As done in colleges, the student ID enables access to specific residential halls as a way to protect students in their living quarters. Access has been the common factor for recent school shootings.  We have heard many times on the news that the shooter walked right into the school.

Slide 17

Access control is the preemptive element of the 6 Essential Security Elements.

Access Control gives you control over who enters the building and who doesn’t. This, incorporated with video surveillance let’s you know who’s at the door (what door, what time, and what they look like). Access Control (or sometimes referred to as Card Access) is a configurable system that can be assigned to specific doors, as many as you wish, that only grants access to those who have the right cards. Each card can be programmed with specific identifying information on the card carrier (like a picture) and can be programmed to access only specific doors. All other visitors or personnel would need to communicate with authorized people to gain access.

We understand that we would all like our schools to be welcoming, open communities, but, unfortunately we need to have tighter controls on who we let into our schools. Access control allows this and is an important element and a responsible measure to  keep students and teachers safe.

KTS is expert at designing and deploying Access Control systems that can give you control to allow the right people in and keep the wrong people out

Slide 18

The 5^th and 6^th elements of a comprehensive security system are intrusion detection and campus emergency phones

For today’s webinar, I am not going to go into detail on these two elements for two reasons:

1. Intrusion detection is not typically a significant gap in schools security systems.
2. Campus emergency phones are not applicable for all school safety solutions. They are typically important for campus settings; and while cellular phones are so prevalent in our society, the benefit of emergency phones is the ability to simply pick up the phone and the call is made; usually to security personnel, with no dialing needed.

Should these security elements be a concern to you, please contact us and we are happy to assess your situation and help you address your security concerns.

Slide 19

So now, let’s talk about the steps in improving safety at your school.

Slide 20

While school safety is a top priority, everyone is at different stages in assessing and prioritizing what is next for their school community.

As we have discussed the 6 elements, which ones are gaps in your security plan?

Where are you in evaluating your current security solution and identifying areas that may require upgrades?

Slide 21

Wherever you are in the process, KTS is here to help you.

From initial assessment and planning to design, installation and comprehensive services and support through service level agreements.

Slide 22

School safety is a community-wide concern: protecting students and staff.  Security solutions are an area of expertise for us – but when it comes to school safety, it is also a top concern for all of us as parents and members of our community.

How can we help you?

Are you at the planning stage?  If so, we can complete an assessment, develop budgetary quotes and update your security plan which should be done every 3-5 years at a minimum.

Are you at the Design stage?  – based on our assessment, we commonly phase the work; develop specifications and drawings and deliver blue prints,

Are You At the Installation Stage?– we provide the best-in-class equipment, expert installation to manufacturers specifications, and thorough testing

Or Do You Need Service and support- we provide all installation documentation including warranties, train on the use of equipment and systems, offer multiple options for service level agreements for routine maintenance and emergency support.

Slide 23

So, raise your hand if you would like us to work with you in evaluating your Safety Plan.  Simply click the link to set up a meeting, click to send us an email with questions or feedback on this webinar or call me directly.

To learn more about KTS and our expertise and experience in the Education sector, click on the links to go directly to our website.

Finally, connect with us on social media. You can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for ongoing updates about school security as well as upcoming recorded webinars.

We hope this webinar was helpful and thank you for listening.