CHICAGO —The ASIS Foundation will donate $42,000 to Spencer Technology Academy (STA) after designating the institution as the winner of its 2013 School Security Funding Competition. The money will be used to improve security measures on campus.
ASIS will honor the academy at a Sept. 27 luncheon, which will be held during ASIS 2013.
STA, part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district, won the competition’s top prize based on a series of short essays that schools in the district were asked to submit. The entries focused on security concerns and what risks the schools would attempt to reduce and/or eliminate. Additionally, the essays included a list of specific security enhancements that schools would purchase with the funding. A committee comprised of security management professionals from the ASIS Chicago Chapter judged the submissions.
“This is the tenth year that ASIS has sponsored this competition as a way of giving back to the community where our annual Seminar and Exhibits is held,” ASIS CEO Michael Stack says. “The aim of the competition is to encourage local schools to assess the security issues that confront their buildings, staff and students every day.”
Located on the west side of Chicago, Spencer Technology Academy houses nearly 930 students in grades PreK-8 in two separate buildings. Proposed improvements include the addition of both indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras to act as a deterrent for potential wrongdoers and provide the means to more closely monitor the safety of the children.
“It is difficult to express what this award means to my school and the students and families that we serve in our community,” says STA Principal Dr. Shawn Jackson. “Unmonitored entrance points make our school vulnerable to unwanted access leading to equipment theft, violent activity, and criminal behavior.”
The ASIS International 59th Annual Seminar and Exhibits (ASIS 2013) will take place Sept. 24-27 at McCormick Place. For more information, click here.
