RedSky Blog

It's nearing the end of summer, and schools are beginning to gear up for the start of a new year.  As budgets come in, we implore your school to consider investing in E911.  

With a rise in unpredictable events occurring on school campuses, it is vital to have an emergency preparedness plan which places the security of the entire school community above all else. In order to get further insight into how exactly E911 can benefit your school, we spoke with one of our long-time customers, the Palm Beach County School District. Helen Hironimus, Specialist II - IT Infrastructure and Security, had much to say about how our E911 solution has helped keep their K-12 campuses safe.

Helen spoke with us candidly about what sparked Palm Beach County's interest in implementing an E911 solution.  In 2000, a student was sent home on account of bad behavior, only to return to the school at the end of the day with a gun.  Tragically, that student sought out the teacher who had reprimanded him, and proceeded to shoot and kill the teacher.  It was then, they immediately began seeking ways to provide extra security for their community.   

The Palm Beach School District is currently the 10th largest school district in the United States possessing over 12,000 endpoints, so they needed a solution that could handle their vast campus, as well as integrate with their Avaya communications system.  Avaya educated Palm Beach about our E911 solutions, and Palm Beach decided this was the step they had been looking to take in providing their schools with a true emergency preparedness plan.  Additionally, the Palm Beach School District was undergoing a communications system upgrade, and believed this was the perfect time to integrate E911.  

We secured the entire school district with our cloud-based technology, now ensuring that each 9-1-1 call will be automatically located and sent to the correct PSAP.  Helen stated that a 9-1-1 call without RedSky doesn't provide nearly enough information for the caller to be properly located.

Without RedSky technology, the PSAP would simply see “Palm Beach School District” attached to any incoming 9-1-1 call, which is too vague of a location for their widespread campus.  The fact that our E911 solutions provide the PSAP with information down to the exact classroom has been incredibly beneficial in reducing the time it takes for help to arrive.  

Additionally, our notification system has been a great success for the Palm Beach School District.  Helen shared that their school district was working on placing a school police officer at each site in their district, totalling 306.  Our technology simultaneously alerts the on-site officer when any 9-1-1 call is in progress, which is invaluable when trying to provide the most immediate assistance. 

Not only is the school officer alerted, but any important personnel, such as the principal, can be kept updated allowing for rapid access to determine if a lockdown should occur, or if further help needs to be sent.  Helen told us she wishes other districts would look at what The Palm Beach School District has implemented.  She stated the community is going on 14 years with RedSky, and our products have been hugely beneficial in keeping their schools secure for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

If your school district is interested in an E911 solution, please contact us with any questions you may have.