school emergency Archives

In a school emergency, 911 is still flying blind

August 12, 2026August 5, 2026 by Dean Drako, Brivo

Cameras are ubiquitous on public school campuses, so why are 911 dispatchers still operating in the dark in a school emergency?

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,…

Emergency Planning & Response

When seconds matter: Why in-building coverage is a lifeline for school safety

January 28, 2026 by Payam Maveddat, Wilson Connectivity

Every student, teacher, and responder deserves the same chance to communicate in an emergency, and school communications coverage is critical

During a school emergency, every minute that passes is crucial, but in those moments, a reliable connection can mean the difference between confusion and coordinated response.

Fact Sheet: Use E-Rate funding for managed solutions to drive student success

September 25, 2024 by Jeff Festa

As K-12 schools look to integrate cloud-based solutions, network complexity is also growing. Lean IT teams struggle to navigate ... Read more

Education Policy & Funding

The clock is ticking on ESSER funds

June 20, 2024 by Jim Grady, Alvaraz and Marsal

The impending deadline represents a moment to recall the magnitude of federal ESSER funds and where the program stands.

Superintendents in the middle of the budget-setting process need to be aware: with the ESSER Funds soon to go away, reporting, supplementing, and storytelling their pandemic-related expenses will be key for…

Maximize the Value of Remaining ESSER Funding

March 8, 2024 by Jeff Festa

With billions of dollars in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that must be spent soon, school systems ... Read more

How to Maximize the Value of Remaining ESSER Funding

June 19, 2024March 5, 2024 by Jeff Festa

With billions of dollars in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that must be spent soon, school systems ... Read more

District Management

5 ways to update aging media centers

August 31, 2023 by Melanie Honeycutt, Ed.D. & Debbie Dale, Burke County Schools

Taking advantage of ESSER funding helped one district update media centers and make learning more collaborative and flexible.

We used our ESSER funding opportunity—plus some additional funding from other sources—to thoroughly review our current facilities across 27 different schools. We sought out the facilities with the…

Emergency Planning & Response

Closing the gap in school emergency response

August 2, 2023 by Aaron Williams, Vice President, Public Safety, L3Harris

When technology works better together, people work better together, enabling faster emergency response and resolution times.

As school violence has reached a 20-year high, schools and first responders are feeling more pressure to make sure they’re prepared to respond to and resolve school safety…

District Management

3 reasons to spend ESSER funds on school-home communications

August 14, 2023July 17, 2023 by Dr. Kara Stern, Head of Education Solutions, SchoolStatus

Federal dollars can play a major role in school-home communications and helping students get to school, ready to learn, every day.

When you think about Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, do you think “HVAC?”

Emergency Planning & Response

How our school handled the chaos of an active shooter hoax

June 7, 2023 by Matt Christensen, Principal, Spanish Fork High School

A principal recounts how a tech tool helped ensure clear communication during an initial emergency--later revealed as an active shooter hoax.

I was in a meeting when I heard the sirens. I immediately excused myself and saw the first squad car screech to a halt in front of our…

Education Policy & Funding

5 ways to use ESSER funds to create cleaner environments

December 7, 2022September 30, 2022 by Edward Pim, Senior Vice President of Operations & Experience, OpenWorks

School operations should focus on key areas to ensure schools are taking the best first step forward now and in the future.

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund is providing a significant influx of resources for schools across the nation. However, an interesting problem revealed itself as…

Education Policy & Funding

District Management

Reducing school emergency response times with X-ray vision

November 5, 2013August 14, 2013 by By Mark Norris

Emerging radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can improve school communications and emergency response times by increasing teacher and student visibility during emergencies.