Broward schools to launch new crisis alert system districtwide

With campus safety concerns starting to rise, Broward County Public Schools educators and staff will have a new tool at their fingertips: a crisis alert button aimed at speeding up emergency response times.

“Improving the response times of school staff and/or first responders can be the difference between life and death,” said a man with the school board.

The safety button will be easily accessible and can be pressed by staff for daily emergencies like a medical episode, student altercation, or potential threats.

A demonstration was held on Friday at Plantation Middle School to mimic how the alert system will blare and send notifications to emergency personnel and staff members alike.

“It is not going to go to 911. It’s not going to be a campus-wide alert,” said a woman.

The crisis alert badge is worn around the neck with a lanyard. In its center is a circular button that one would push in case of an emergency.

“That means that our campus-wide alert will send an immediate notification that includes the site location, room number, and floor information as well as user’s name to 911 and first responders,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn.

For two school board members, improving school safety is a deeply personal issue.

“Goes to the cellphone, panic button, strobe lights, taking over our board, that mass notification alerts everybody to be able to lockdown and get to safety,” said Lori Alhadeff, Broward County School Board Member.

Alhadeff’s daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

“And the guy in the golf cart, he knew that crazy boy was that guy with that gun bag. And If only he had his that panic button that day, to press that panic button eight times or more to call for a lockdown,n Alyssa and Chris possibly could’ve been here today,” said Alhadeff.

School board member Debra Hixon’s husband, Chris, was also tragically killed in the Parkland shooting

“It is an added level of security that shares accurate, precise and immediate information to first responders when seconds count. And in the most crucial of emergencies, seconds can make all the difference,” said Hixon.

And as far as the new technology’s effectiveness, they point to the September school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where a student opened fire, killing 4 people and injuring several others.

“The panic button was used in the Apalachee shooting where the teacher saw gunman walked onto campus, press the panic button, and then hep was able to get there faster, law enforcement to come in and the EMS had saved six to eight people’s lives that were shot because of that quick response time”

Starting in the fall of the next school year, throughout all of Broward County campuses, every staff member will be equipped with the life-saving gadget.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/broward/broward-schools-to-launch-new-crisis-alert-system-districtwide/