Putting Together a Plan
The good news is you don’t have to have a specific plan ready to go once you bring in your consultant. If you have an idea of what you would like to do that’s great. If not, that’s fine too. Connors recommends schools and districts go through a security and safety audit to provide a thorough assessment of security measures already in place. This includes both technology and policies. An audit consists of an inspection of the site, including the interior and grounds.
“I’m looking at access control and communications, classroom security, and lockdown capability,” says Connors. He also reviews any existing safety plans or procedures.
Your consultant will then provide you with recommendations for improvement and may even provide tabletop exercises for school staff and administrators so they can become familiar with good safety practices. Connors recommends schools undergo an audit and have their safety plans reviewed at the same time since the two entities depend on one another. Otherwise, it is difficult to know whether or not your consultant gave you a viable product.
And the role of the school in this relationship? “It’s essentially to be an open book,” says Connors. “I don’t want my administrators telling me something that I know is not the case. If they want the straight scoop on where they stand and what they need to do then they need to be authentic from the start.”
Finding an Integrator
As with hiring a consultant, there is no direct route to finding an integrator, but you should start by exploring whether your state has a list of approved companies. For example, “Massachusetts has an FAC64 program where there are certain vendors that have gone through a pre-qualification process and submitted pricings to make it easier for schools,” says Greg Sparrow, director of project management at Signet, a New England-based systems integrator. If you’re state offers such a list, this is where you want to start.
If you haven’t already put together a plan for your technology project, an integrator can work with you to do that. Ideally, you will have one person from your school district that will serve as the main point of contact for the integrator. Often this person is the town business manager, a principal or a school resource officer if the district has one. Once you bring in an integrator, you can expect them to ask you a few questions.
“What are their operational goals? What are they trying to achieve by adding security to their facility or augmenting security?” says Sparrow. “From there, it’s about the function of the building. Are the doors locked all the time? Do they use the building for town hall meetings on Friday nights? That all impacts how the security system may need to be set up or built.”
Some vendors, like Signet, also have the expertise to do a campus walk-through and make recommendations for security much like a consultant would. The end user’s role in this relationship is to help the integrator understand the district or the school’s goals. Before any project begins, end users can expect a detailed proposal from their integrator that outlines the expectations of both parties and identifies the full scope of the project. One thing for end users to keep in mind is that scheduling a project during the summer (or during a time when school is not in session) may actually decrease the cost of the project. That way work does not have to be completed late at night or on weekends when it’s more expensive to do so.
An End User’s Experience
There is no real “secret” to success. A successful relationship between end users and the organizations they partner with is one that involves clear communication and a willingness to collaborate. That being said, it isn’t always easy for an end user to trust someone from the outside who may not understand the culture of a given school district. This is something Guy Grace, director of Security and Emergency Planning for the Littleton, Colo. public schools knows firsthand. Grace’s district is in the process of updating its security systems and moving to IP-based technologies. The company Technology Plus based in Charlotte, NC is serving as a technology advisor on the project.
“We had to get to know each other and realize we were on each other’s side,” says Grace. Littleton has been extremely happy with the company’s work, but Grace admits it was hard for him to let go and allow somebody else to take the reins. Choosing the new technology was really a collaborative effort between Grace, the staff that would operate the various technologies and Technologies Plus. It was ultimately the work they did together that allowed Littleton to begin t
o bring its security system to the next level.
The Takeaway
Choosing your K-12 security partners doesn’t have to be difficult if you draw on the advice and expertise of your peers. Ask around and listen to the experiences of other schools in your area, or pick up the phone and call one of the customers listed on an integrator or consultant’s website. When you do find a partner, be clear about your expectations and be willing to work together. Only then will you set yourself up for success.
