GREENCASTLE, Pa. – A partnership between the Greencastle-Antrim School District partnered and Ameritech, a software company based in Hagerstown, produced a customized security system for use in two Greencastle-Antrim elementary and primary schools. The two schools will each receive one system, with each system costing $6,000.
The new CLASS (Children Leaving a School Safely) program is designed to ensure student safety by requiring anyone who wishes to sign a child out of class to first punch in an identification number into a computer near the school office.
According to Director of Elementary Education Greg Hoover, the district received some complaints from parents about the current sign-out process’s lack of security features, such as checking IDs. After being unable to find a system that met the district’s needs, he contacted Ameritech about developing a software program to meet their specific needs.
The system, to be implemented on a trial basis with 25 families, works by issuing authorized parents and guardians PIN numbers, which will need to be entered into a camera-monitored computer.
Administrators will have access to a printout of all the children who were signed out.
According to Hoover, the Safe and Drug Free school program is funding half the development and equipment costs.