Can Your Smartphone Help Students in a Crisis?

Almost all adults and even children as young as 10 have cellphones – why not take advantage of the devices they already look at every day and take your safety plans mobile?

Even though emergency situations are rare, the fact of the matter is, crisis management is always first and foremost in our minds. From natural disasters to acts of violence, we want to make sure that we’re prepared for anything, and that our staff, faculty and students have the information they need when they need it most. If you’re still relying on paper plans in binders or posters in the hallway, however, your students and staff may not have these plans in the critical moments.

The majority of Americans have cellphones, and these days, even children are getting their own smartphones. With all of the devices out in the public, why not take advantage of this with a safety app? Thanks to the high usage of mobile devices, a mobile safety app is easy to use and easy to access. This can make all the difference in a moment of crisis.

Mobile Use Today

The need for getting real-time information, or mobility, is one of the biggest trends we’ve seen when it comes to safety management in schools. Although we certainly don’t want mobile devices to take attention away from valuable lessons in the classroom, the fact of the matter is, using the assets that your students and teachers already have with them is one of the smartest and most cost-effective ways to mitigate risk. A recent study shows that:

  • 95% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind [1]
  • 77% of those who own cellphones have a smartphone [1]
  • The average age children receive their first cell phone is 10 years old [2]

Since your staff and faculty already have smartphones, there’s very little implementation cost for you. A mobile app also eliminates the need for costly reprints of plans, as you can automatically and in real-time update plans as changes are made.

You’ll not only ensure that everyone has the newest safety procedures, but that they’re also able to report a hazard, have access to building plans. In addition, if your facilities are used for extracurricular events, you can create a custom event safety plan.

Most importantly, for any age group, ease of use is essential – you don’t want to be scrambling to find the information you need!

Going Mobile

The right mobile safety application, such as SchoolDude’s CrisisManager, works hand in hand with your current safety procedures and elevates them to a whole new level. Three Village Central School District recently began using CrisisManager in all of their schools. With the mobile app, the school district can dynamically share emergency protocols and event safety procedures with faculty, staff, parents, students and even first responders.

“Providing special event plans via CrisisManager helps us quickly communicate where faculty should direct attendees to go during an emergency, what radio frequency to use with first responders, and more,” Jack Blaum, Safety and Security Coordinator of the district, said. “Previously, we gave large paper packets of event guidelines to faculty and volunteers, which was not conducive to event environments.”

With 7,000 students across nine K-12 school buildings, the district needed immediate and lasting results, and CrisisManager helped them achieve their safety goals. “Making critical procedures, including post-incident response plans, available on mobile devices helps our school community prepare for any emergency,” said Blaum.

For more information about how our safety app can empower your crisis management, check out www.schooldude.com!

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[1] http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/
[2] http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/20/study-kids-are-getting-their-first-cell-phone-before-they-can-drive.html

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