SchoolGuard: A New Way To Combat the Mass Shooting Epidemic

Since the Columbine shooting in 1999, the number of in-school active shooters has increased at an alarming rate. With no apparent effort from legislation to keep students safe, one of the parents of à columbine victim took it upon himself to develop SchoolGuard.

  With the increasing number of attacks on schools, SchoolGuard is à very efficient way to quickly defuse any situation that puts students in danger. They do this by working very closely with Hero911. When put together SchoolGuard is able to notify local authorities of the threat and location of the said threat. This makes interventions not only immediate but as efficient as possible. Schoolguard also offers CampusGuard, which is the college equivalent of the protection service. In similar fashion, CampusGuard alerts all nearby police of the active shooter and his or her current location.

  À testimony by Carolyn Moore praising SchoolGuard shows how The application can bypass even the most difficult situations, including lack of alarms, PA, and landline phones. “Our school signed up for SchoolGuard and we recently had the opportunity to use it during an Active Shooter Drill conducted by the Maui Police Department. We used the “Principal Push” to communicate with each other as it was impossible to get to landline phones or alarm systems during the drill. We were grateful for the sense of connectedness SchoolGuard gave to us as we sent messages to alert the location of the shooter. This is a wonderful tool for school safety. Thank you for your work in making our schools safer!” Although it has only been tested in drills, the program has proven to be very efficient, and possibly the most progressive system used to protect the children of this nation.

  So, how does the application work? What exactly is the method being used to protect our schools? First, the application speed dials 911 while instantly alerting all Teachers, staff members, nearby law enforcement on and off duty, and all schools within à 5-mile radius. Also, all law enforcement that responds to the distress call will be greeted with a map of the school or campus with the exact location of the shooter. Finally, the program is of course, out of reach from students to prevent any false alarms or mischievous activity.

  Nowadays, there is à great lack of safety in schools. It is easier to get into the primary location of our nation’s children than it is to get into an airport. Yet, it seems like no legislation is being passed to keep us, the students, safe. With these conditions in place, it seems that SchoolGuard is one of the only solutions to the increasing amount of active shooters in our schools.