WPBN: In order to address the issue of gun violence in schools, the Anderson County school system has implemented additional preventative measures. One of these measures is the introduction of the Rave Panic Button Emergency App, which streamlines the process of making calls for any kind of emergency.
“Next semester, we are beginning the implementation of, right now as we speak, is what’s called the Rave app,” Anderson County Schools Director of Communications Ryan Sutton stated. “It’s an app that is user-based on our teachers that will go on their cell phones, because no one goes anywhere without their cell phones any more, as well as its geofenced. If I and a school employee are at one of our schools, I have five choices of alerts that I can give from my phone.”
An example of one of these alerts or alarm kinds is an intruder alert, which notifies the authorities when the problem is occurring within the school, the phone from which the alert originated, and the location of the phone at the moment the alert was triggered.
The ability to call for a medical emergency, fire, or other police necessary, as well as another choice that may differ depending on the school level, is also available to teachers and personnel.
The app performs a function that is superior to that of the safety lanyards that are used in certain schools.
“Where this is more powerful than those necklaces or lanyards you’ve seen in other schools is it offers that two-way communication automatically,” Sutton stated. “If I’m the person that gave the alert and then I’m the person that received the alert and I see that the intruder is in the west wing of the building, I can enter that in the chat. Anyone that’s on that Geofenced campus with those rights, meaning their GPS location, will begin to get those types of messages including our dispatch at 911.”
All of this new technology is being added to the existing safety technology that is already present inside the school system to secure the safety of both the pupils and the teachers.
“As far as safety and security, it’s always evolving. If you’re not, then you’re not adapting to the new things that you know and you’re not doing a great job at that,” Sutton stated. “In emergency situations, seconds do matter. I know that sounds cliché but getting to those emergency events the most quickly that we can, can mean the difference between life and death.”
Sutton stated that in addition to all of the new technology that they are introducing, there are a significant number of cameras located all around the facilities that are part of the district.
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In the event that an emergency situation were to occur in a school located in Anderson County, the 911 center is able to gain access to any of the school’s cameras in order to obtain a live footage of the events that are taking place within the school.
In the event that someone who is supposed to be present at the school carries a weapon into the facility, Sutton told 6 News that they rely primarily on word of mouth to identify the perpetrator.
He went on to say that Anderson County has been lucky in that the students have recognized what could be a possible problem, and that the school system has been able to prevent some of those potential problems from occurring.
