Having a campus-wide communication ecosystem is imperative, and school district leaders have no higher priority than to create secure and informed campus environments.
Being able to initiate a controlled emergency notification protocol to alert, notify and monitor directly from a mobile device, classroom audio system, or interactive flat panel is essential.
An eSchool News panel of experts, including Brent Thrasher, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Overton County Schools and Todd Eddy from Galaxy Next Generation, offers insights into how to make better decisions, prevent risk, and strengthen communication between faculty, administration, and first responders during an active threat.
Topics include:
- How to immediately notify teachers of a lockdown through software alerts.
- How to instantly notify law enforcement and first responders.
- How to monitor communication within your entire ecosystem using one software platform.
Related:
3 keys to school communication and community-building
- Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
- In districts, reaching readiness, retention, and success - March 5, 2026
- AI use is on the rise, but is guidance keeping pace? - January 2, 2026
More from eSchool News
The foundation for student success is a positive classroom culture
As the school year begins, teachers often devote significant time to planning lessons, reviewing standards, organizing classrooms, and establishing routines. While these are all essential components of effective teaching, they cannot replace the importance of creating a positive classroom culture.
The biggest back-to-school challenge
As students return to classrooms across America this fall, parents are focused on school supplies, class schedules, and academic expectations. Teachers are preparing lesson plans, organizing classrooms, and hoping for a successful year.
How to build a positive classroom in the first 5 days of school
There’s a wise quote that says, “Kids don’t care about your expectations until they know you care about them. Connection is the foundation everything else stands on.”
4 things new principals can do to strengthen school culture
Over the last 15 years, I have observed a recurring pattern. A new principal, whether brand new to the role or a veteran principal arriving at a new school, wants to make an immediate impact.
Schools are building AI rules before they know the destination
America’s schools are moving quickly to respond to the rise of artificial intelligence, with parents, teachers, administrators, and lawmakers working to wrap their arms around what this means for student education.
The grading paradox: Better data is key to understanding real subject mastery
There’s a confusing trend going on in the nation’s classrooms: While national test scores have dropped to levels not seen in decades, average high school GPAs are actually climbing.
In a school emergency, 911 is still flying blind
School safety emergencies are inherently chaotic, frightening, and made even more perilous by a lack of real-time visibility once an emergency is underway. In an active shooter incident, first responders often arrive at the scene with little or no knowledge about what is happening inside the school.
Does school design help or hinder adolescent learning?
Adolescence is one of the most consequential periods of human development, yet the environments designed to support it often fail to reflect its complexity. Spanning ages 10 to 18, this stage is marked by rapid neurological, emotional, and social transformation.
The grade gap: Helping parents understand students’ academic progress
For as long as school has existed, so has the parental question: How are my kids doing? For nearly two centuries, educators have used some type of report card to communicate with families how their children are progressing in school.
The one literacy metric schools miss: Students’ love of reading
To ensure children build foundational reading skills in the early elementary years, educators have embraced the Science of Reading with its emphasis on phonics and phonemic awareness.