SAFEVISITOR BLOG
Visitor Management System for Schools
There is no shortage of security vendors coming out of the woods these days, peddling products that range from bullet-proof back packs to multi-million dollar school building hardware upgrades to be designated the safest school in America. Of course the designation was made by the security company installing the system.
We hear daily from schools all across the U.S. that they have vendor fatigue. Most of what they are been peppered with are products that do not move the safety needle and will do little to keep schools safe.
Many times we can bring a team of experts together for a simple school walk through with your administration, SRO’s, school safety specialists and principals and pinpoint dozens of items that cost nothing or very little to fix. I told a school this week that until they had locks on doors, controll who had access to their schools and address the side and rear doors that are either unlocked or propped open that it made no sense to spend tens of thousands of dollars on sophisticated security systems.
The first step is to start with a visitor management system for schools that manages the flow of all visitors. Until you know who is entering your schools, all other security systems are rendered useless.
It is also to keep a broad definition of school safety. Too often these days school safety has become synonymous with active shooter response. Truthfully, even after a week where we had active shooter events at the Southaven Walmart, El Paso Walmart and Dayton, OH, active shooter events in schools are still statistically very low. That does NOT mean we should not be developing security plans and procedures.
However, it is statistically more likely that a child will be sexually exploited at school. So knowing who walks through your doors is critical.
What should you look for in a visitor management system for schools?
Is it cloud-based so it connects the entire campus?
Can it flag excluded parties who have posed a danger to the school?
Does it integrate with other security systems to create an integrated solution?
Does it allow you to create comprehensive and specific screening packages for your different visitors (volunteers, contractors, community partners, etc)?
Does it integrate with your student information system like Skyward, PowerSchool, Infinite Campus?
Do you have real-time arrest monitoring?
If your answer was no to any or these questions or you don’t know and would like a demo, please click here to setup a 1:1 demo or register for our weekly group SafeVisitor demo.
Articles
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Active Shooter
5
- Dec 3, 2018 Wait -- is Code Yellow a shooter or a bus problem? Dec 3, 2018
- Jul 2, 2018 Is your security toolkit complete? Jul 2, 2018
- Jun 1, 2018 Active Shooter: Facility Security Starts Far From Your Front Door Jun 1, 2018
- May 23, 2018 School Active Shooters: Getting "Left of Bang" May 23, 2018
- May 7, 2018 Active Shooters: Stop Reacting, Start Preventing May 7, 2018
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Background Checks
4
- Oct 25, 2017 How Do We Comply With Indiana HEA 1079? Oct 25, 2017
- Oct 3, 2017 Top 5 Problems with Vendor Background Checks Oct 3, 2017
- Aug 25, 2017 Can I manage employee background checks in a visitor management system? Aug 25, 2017
- Aug 17, 2017 Do Visitor Management Systems Integrate with Comprehensive Background Checks? Aug 17, 2017
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Building Security
3
- Jun 3, 2019 Preventing “road rage” in your parking lot Jun 3, 2019
- Sep 4, 2018 Metal Detectors Aren't a Magical Safety Solution Sep 4, 2018
- Feb 27, 2018 Making Sure Your Building is Safe No Matter Who is There Feb 27, 2018
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Cloud Hosting
1
- Nov 7, 2017 Visitor Management System: Cloud Hosting vs Local Server Nov 7, 2017
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Concealed Carry
1
- Feb 1, 2019 How should you deal with concealed carry? Feb 1, 2019
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Corporate Security
2
- Aug 1, 2018 How a Warrior Views Your Facility Aug 1, 2018
- Dec 7, 2017 How to Protect Yourself at Work Dec 7, 2017
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Emergency Alerts
2
- Nov 1, 2018 When an Excluded Visitor Creates a Disruption Nov 1, 2018
- Jan 9, 2018 How Our Emergency Button Helps Put the 'Safe' in SafeVisitor How Our Emergency Button Helps Put the 'Safe' in SafeVisitor Jan 9, 2018
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Excluded Parties
1
- Sep 11, 2017 How to Create Visitor Management Excluded Parties Lists Sep 11, 2017
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Facial Recognition
1
- Aug 26, 2019 Use and Misuse of Facial Recognition Software Aug 26, 2019
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Geofence
2
- Oct 6, 2017 How Does Geo-Fence Expand Your Security Perimeter? Oct 6, 2017
- Aug 22, 2017 Visitor Management: How Can A Geofence Protect My Organization? Aug 22, 2017
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Pricing
1
- Sep 13, 2017 What is the Cost of a Visitor Management System? Sep 13, 2017
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Reunification
2
- Mar 9, 2021 Visitor Management System for Schools Mar 9, 2021
- May 1, 2019 Developing a plan for reunification after emergencies May 1, 2019
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School Visitor Management
13
- Mar 9, 2021 Visitor Management System for Schools Mar 9, 2021
- Oct 18, 2019 How to Make Schools Safer With A School Visitor Check-In System Oct 18, 2019
- Oct 4, 2019 What is Best Visitor Management System for Schools? Oct 4, 2019
- Sep 24, 2019 School Visitor Management Systems Are The Foundation for Security Sep 24, 2019
- Aug 30, 2019 What Should a Visitor Management System for Schools Do? Aug 30, 2019
- Aug 8, 2019 Visitor Management System for Schools Aug 8, 2019
- Apr 1, 2019 Anonymous reporting systems enhance safety Apr 1, 2019
- Mar 1, 2019 Someone phoned in a bomb threat. Now what? Mar 1, 2019
- Jan 2, 2019 Are Your After-School Events Safe Places? Jan 2, 2019
- Nov 14, 2017 What’s the Purpose of a Visitor Management System? Nov 14, 2017
- Sep 22, 2017 Are You Keeping Students Safe with a Quality Visitor Management System? Sep 22, 2017
- Sep 11, 2017 How to Create Visitor Management Excluded Parties Lists Sep 11, 2017
- Aug 29, 2017 What Is the Best School Visitor Management System? Aug 29, 2017
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Sex Offender Search
2
- Nov 1, 2017 Is the Visitor Management System Sex Offender Data Up To Date? Nov 1, 2017
- Aug 31, 2017 Visitor Management System: Do You Really Know All of Your Visitors? Aug 31, 2017
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Vendor Management
1
- Oct 1, 2018 Visitor Management: How Well Do You Trust Vendors in Your Facilities? Oct 1, 2018
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Visitor Management
2
- Sep 15, 2019 Visitor Management Software: Security Technology Removes Stress Sep 15, 2019
- Sep 9, 2019 What is Visitor Management System? Sep 9, 2019
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Volunteer Management
2
- Nov 21, 2017 How do I Conduct a Kiwanis Background Check? Nov 21, 2017
- Sep 25, 2017 Creating a Volunteer Background Screening Consortium Sep 25, 2017
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WA WATCH Background Check
1
- Jan 15, 2018 WA State Police WATCH Volunteer Background Checks Jan 15, 2018
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visitor kiosk
1
- Aug 15, 2019 Visitor Management Kiosk Aug 15, 2019