Keeping Rural Schools Safe: How 1 District Uses Technology to Improve Security
The Penns Valley Area School District in Pennsylvania installed video surveillance, access control, visitor management and a secure vestibule to ensure campus safety.
IP cameras were integrated with several existing analog cameras, and all video streams were connected using MAXPRO VMS, a Honeywell video management system.
Most people assume the further away a small town is from a major city, the safer that town’s school district must be. Penns Valley Area School District Superintendent Brian Griffith is not one of those people. Griffith led efforts to install a custom security system that gives district staff and teachers the power to control technologies that will protect students if an active shooter is on school grounds.
“The school district’s approach to improving its security infrastructure was exceptional,” says Ken Darr, vice president at LowV Systems, the local integrator that designed and implemented the system. “This installation is a great example to other schools of how to select security systems that effectively work together across several locations.”
Penns Valley sits in rural Spring Mills, Pa., about 30 miles northeast of State College and Penn State University. The district faced challenges in part because of its physical location but also because there is no police force on campus or in Spring Mills. The four schools in the district fall under Pennsylvania State Police jurisdiction, and the closest police station is between 15-30 minutes away.
The superintendent’s office and LowV Systems enlisted feedback from law enforcement and safety associations on system capabilities that would mitigate these challenges and assist police responding in an emergency situation. Using this insight, LowV developed a custom solution that is easy to operate and lets administrators communicate with one another across all four schools. If a security-related event were to unfold at one location, staff at the other schools are automatically notified and a district-wide lockdown is activated instantly.
“The district’s security system helps staff take control to protect students if an event were to occur,” says Darr. “In an emergency situation, staff and administrators will have more transparency than ever before into what is taking place in and around school buildings.”
District Designs Security With a Clear Purpose
The goal of any security upgrade should be more than simply installing new, high-tech physical equipment. The system must be designed to provide personnel more meaningful information to help them make decisions and allow them to be more effective during an incident. That philosophy perfectly describes the overarching objective of Penns Valley’s new system.
The integrator, for example, expanded the district’s video surveillance capabilities by adding Honeywell IP cameras to parking lots and athletic fields. They also mounted cameras around each external structure.
“Now, administrators can more easily monitor the areas outside surrounding schools,” says Darr.
Cameras were also installed in cafeterias and gymnasiums, throughout hallways and in corners, around foyers and at all entry points. In total, Penns Valley added more than 200 new cameras to five buildings.
“In my experience, it is an unprecedented number of cameras for a school district this size,” claims Darr. “However, integrated video surveillance is one of the most important features of this system because it provides the district and police officials with the ability to view live events throughout a security incident.”
Video, Access Control, Visitor Management Installed
The IP cameras were integrated with several existing analog cameras, and all video streams were connected using MAXPRO VMS, a Honeywell video management system. LowV then began installation of an access control system. Access control helps to monitor and limit traffic into schools by requiring keycard authorization at entry points. The video surveillance system also plays a role here – each time a card is swiped at a keypad, a camera that monitors the doorway is triggered to begin recording activity at the entry point.
“We put the power of building access in the hands of school administrators by providing a quick and easy way for staff in the central office to verify the identity of any person who walks through school doors,” says Griffith.
The system also gives school staff more control in who can access the buildings. Visitors to the school, including students’ parents, are escorted to the main office where Honeywell’s LobbyWorks Visitor Management System requires them to present ID at an office kiosk. LobbyWorks updates the Pro-Watch database with each visitor’s personal information so there is record of each visit. Then, if and when access is granted, a badge is issued that visitors must scan at each entryway keypad for entry into the building.
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