Page 32 - Campus Security & Life Safety, April 2017

EMERGENCY RESPONSE
MAKING SCHOOLS MORE SECURE
New Jersey high school upgrades security with new emergency response system By Sydny Shepard
Sterling High School Resource Officer, George Badey.
ACCORDING TO A STUDY PUBLISHED IN 2015 BY U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOLS RANKED IN THE TOP 200 OF APPROXIMATELY 20,000 HIGH SCHOOLS THAT WERE CONSIDERED NATIONWIDE. AS IS EVIDENCED BY THESE RANKINGS, QUALITY EDUCATION IS A PRIMARY CONSIDERATION FOR NEW JERSEY PARENTS, STUDENTS, FACULTY AND GOVERNING BOARDS. ALSO PRIMARY TO THESE STAKE- HOLDERS IS A SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT, AS IS FOUND AT STERLING HIGH SCHOOL IN SOMERDALE, NEW JERSEY.
Sterling High School is a comprehensive regional public high school and school district serving approximately 1,000 students in ninth through twelfth grades. The school features a full complement of scho- lastic and athletic activities in addition to a wide range of continually updated academic programs. The campus comprises two buildings with approximately 70 classrooms and 10 administrative offices. Video sur- veillance cameras are located on the building exterior and throughout the school and students, faculty and staff wear identification badges.
Visitors are not allowed into the building without an appointment and all visitors must report to the general office upon arrival. Sterling High School also has a full-time resource officer from the Somerdale Police Department on board.
These are just some of the pro-active measures the school has in
place to help ensure a safe and secure environment for the 1,200-1,500 individuals who are in the school every day. In keeping with these security initiatives, Sterling High School recently advanced their secu- rity to the next level with the implementation of the Sielox CLASS (Crisis Lockdown Alert Status System).
Sielox CLASS enhances awareness and communication in the event of an emergency. Designed for use in the K-12 and higher education environment, the system provides real-time classroom status, updates and notifications to administrators and first responders using graphi- cal maps, email and text messaging to assist in making split-second decisions in the event of an incident or developing situation.
The dynamic graphical map provides real-time status of up to
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