One of the biggest challenges faced by school principals and administrators is building and maintaining a school culture that promotes safety and supports academic achievement.

Experienced educators understand that a rational and balanced approach to school safety produces an environment that is perceived to be safe and secure, while not producing the perception of an institution in “lock-down.”

Most businesses already incorporate security systems to protect the facilities when they are closed. Most have some degree of fire protection. Many are now using access control systems to better control movement in sensitive areas of the business, and video systems to help monitor the facility and to capture events that may need to be accessed by law enforcement at a later time.

Schools are now incorporating many of the technologies that businesses have used for years. Cameras have become commonplace in schools, protecting against theft, vandalism, identifying and tracking unauthorized persons on the premises and recording events that assist in identifying and disciplining student behavior issues. Most schools incorporate sophisticated intrusion alarm systems to protect school premises when they are empty.

EMC Security was recently chosen to provide a county-wide security monitoring solution for all of the Gwinnett County School system facilities, which included 115 elementary, middle and high schools, two charter schools, six mixed-use locations and a number of administration and maintenance facilities.

The county wanted a local company, with a good reputation for service, which would incorporate the latest web-based technology to allow system administration access to alarm history, the ability to change user information and passcodes from anywhere, and reduce potential false alarm dispatch of responding police authorities.

EMC Security had such an internet based system that had been used successfully by many of its commercial and industrial customers, including other school systems, that they believed would be a perfect fit for the vigorous requirements of the Gwinnett County School System.

“All five of our districts agree that the EMC Security direct online access is a tremendous improvement over our past system. Our electricians can now remotely diagnose problems and correct problems when they occur because of their accessibility to the online resource. Internet access and technical assistance are two ‘force multipliers’ that more than pay for the cost of the service. Even though we do not have a tremendous amount of experience with the online access, we already see that it has improved our response and processing times,” says Craig Woodrow, director of the Building Maintenance Department for Gwinnett County Public Schools.

Protecting over 200 widely scattered and diverse locations is no small task. All facilities operate with a flexible schedule with users accessing the buildings at all hours of the day and night. EMC Security was able to coordinate with the Gwinnett County School Systems staff to set up a system that would be flexible, yet still provide protection to millions of square feet of school system property.

“Because we are part of this community, EMC Security was excited to be selected as the service provider for Gwinnett County Public Schools, Georgia’s largest school system and the fourteenth largest in the country,” said Michael Morton, sales manager with EMC Security.

The end result was a comprehensive system monitoring plan that was devised to provide a high level of protection, reduce false alarms and to provide significant monitoring cost savings by negotiating all facility services under one agreement.

Vince Raia, president of EMC Security, says about the partnership with the Gwinnett County School System, “Gwinnett County residents are fortunate to have a public school system that is committed to the safety of its students, its faculty and staff. I have 3 daughters enrolled in the Gwinnett system, and I have always felt that they have made school safety a high priority. The schools continue to project a welcome and open environment, while the staff continues to work employing available technology to improve the safety and security of our children.”