It is not as simple as locking school doors to protect students and staff from the violence.
In April of 2021, the initial Workplace Violence Prevention Law was passed. It set basic standards for the development and implementation to prevent and minimize workplace violence.
As of January 4, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul amended the federal law to extend coverage to schools.
School administration was no longer just responsible for educating, but looking at all facets of protecting all people and property.
Law enforcement went way beyond placing SRO (School Resource Officers) in districts. Some schools developed in-house security people and programs combined with outside company training and software.
Over the years security companies have developed a series of actions including written policies and risk evaluations.
Wayne County Sheriff Rob Milby, along with the New York State Sheriff’s Association, dove head-first into studying all aspects of school security. This went beyond training drills for officers entering school shooter responses. Along with hardware and software applications, total packages, including lock-down procedures, threat assessments, 911 notifications and response, teacher and student participation and parental awareness, became crucial.
On Tuesday (8/27) area-wide, multi-county police agencies, program developers and school districts gathered for a presentation sponsored by Sheriff Milby at the Wayne County Emergency Management Center. The room was packed to overflow.
On the docket was a demonstration by Sheriff’s Deputies via video, of how police and the North Rose School District has adopted a TAP App/fourDscape program.
The combined software and training has been accepted by ten of Wayne County’s school districts for future implementation. It is in the process of development in numerous school districts throughout the state.
The system’s key features include:
Immediate Emergency Notification
• Automated lockdown announcement over school PA systems
• Emergency strobe lights and digital signs activation.
• Notifications sent to mobile devices (phones) computers, text and e-mails.
• Police simultaneously notified of an emergency
• Triggers existing mass notification systems.
Remote Access to Security Systems
• Real-time announcements over the school PA systems.
• Live CCTV viewing into building and property (by responding police agencies).
• Doors can be locked and unlocked.
• Swipe cards system can be deactivated.
• Instant viewing of electronic maps and floor plans.
Real-time incident management.
• Communicate fluidly internally and with first responders.
• Emergency procedures fully accessible during the incident.
• In-care person accountability.
• Push-to-talk and Instant Messaging.
• Emergency Reunification.
Basically, all systems work together to protect and preserve life.
This system addresses all that went wrong in the Uvalde, Texas shooting, where 19 children and two teachers died and 376 law enforcement officers left the shooter 77 minutes - with dead, dying and traumatized victims - before he was stopped.
In that case the teenage killer entered through an unlocked door before the final response by officers led to his death.
The response to the attack has been denounced as an “abject failure” with enough blame to be spread widely. It finally led to indictments of two former police officers and the resignation of school officials.
The former chief was booked on 10 felony charges of child endangerment with known criminal negligence for failing to recognize the incident as an active shooting and for failing to take proper action to intervene, the indictment said. According to the filing, the behaviors placed each of the 10 children listed in “imminent danger of bodily injury, death, physical impairment and mental impairment.”
Former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo was hired by the school district in March 2020 and fired in August 2022 for his role in the highly scrutinized law enforcement response on May 24, 2022.
Former school police officer Adrian Gonzales was charged with 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child.
The problems of safety within school walls is nothing new. Twenty -five years ago the Columbine High School shooting was considered a phenomena, today it has become a reality.
The newly developed programs, pushed by Sheriff Milby, eliminate both the wasted time response and carnage from repeated school shootings over the years.
Once established in the nine Wayne County School Districts, Sheriff Milby would like to expand the system to county office buildings.
Yes, there are costs involved to districts and other participating entities, but after the initial setup, I there is a yearly, sliding cost depending on the size, number of buildings and specific needs of the district.
According to Sheriff Milby, BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) covers a percentage of the initial cost of about $40,000 (Depending on School District Needs). Then there is an annual fee of $4995 that addresses ongoing software and training.
“To make sure that everyone was on board, so that we had continuity in our county, and officers of all agencies could have ‘real time’ information provided to them as a crisis unfolds, we utilized a technology grant to cover the initial setup costs for all of our school districts. Implementation has begun in all ten districts that are participating, stated Sheriff Milby.
Why are the, Gananda and Clyde-Savannah school districts not onboard?
Andrew Banas, Director of Communications for Clyde-Savannah stated:
"Our school district is committed to ensuring that the safety and security of our students and staff remain our top priority. We have a comprehensive set of safety protocols in place, designed to create a secure learning environment and respond effectively to any potential emergencies.
In alignment with these efforts, our district intends to adopt the Tap App and 4D- Scape platform for the 25-26 school year. These advanced tools are becoming increasingly utilized by school districts throughout the County and region helping support the coordinated efforts of Wayne County Law enforcement and other emergency response agencies.
We remain vigilant in our pursuit of innovative solutions that enhance our safety protocols and hope that the adoption of Tap App and 4d Scape will further fortify our commitment to protecting our students and staff."
Dr. Shawn Van Scoy, the Gananda School Superintendent stated:
"My understanding a few months ago was that not everyone has implemented the TapApp yet. I believe 10 districts in Wayne County have committed to implement fourDScape, but I do not believe all have implemented.
Gananda was told The Tap App couldn’t talk to our student information system, Infinite Campus. We are transitioning to a new system SchoolTool that other districts are using and it talks to Tap App. We expect to fully implemented SchoolTool by the end of September. We will then be transitioning to a New Director of technology. Once those two transitions are complete, we will look at implementing Tap App.
Once the TapApp is successfully implemented we will look at the implementation of 4Dscape. A critical factor in the decision to implement 4DScape will be the experiences other Wayne County Districts have with the implementation."
It was obvious, at the demonstration last Tuesday, that this is a game changer, as Law Enforcement was given real-time information through what 911 operators could see happening, and that was a simulated crisis in the North Rose High School. A school official called for a lockdown, and immediately, cameras in the building honed in on the problem at hand. School and law enforcement officials’ cell phones immediately notified them of the situation. Arriving officers were told exactly where to respond; what side of the building, which doors were closest to the crisis, and as Deputies approached, 911 operators unlocked those doors. Deputies could even retrieve a photo of the suspect during the demonstration. Cameras tracked the threat to the gymnasium, where he was taken into custody. Shortly after several communications with dispatch, 911 made an announcement through the entire school PA system for all to hear. Without such technology, this would have been a much longer scenario, much like some that we have seen unfold elsewhere.
Sheriff Milby added, “We have the opportunity to bring all of those who have normally worked in silos, together, to combine our talents into a common goal, and that is to do whatever we can to save our kids when a crisis is taking place. This happens in America, and we have progressed every year with our responses to this evil, and must continue to do so. To not take advantage of the technology that is before us would be neglectful, in my eyes. The fact that so many school districts and police agencies/sheriff’s offices were there, shows that everyone is willing to breakdown barriers, and work together in response to those who would do harm to others, most notably, our children. You can’t put a price on that.”
