Access Control Systems for Schools
School Safety, School Entrance Control Vestibules, and The Theory of Relativity
Since the tragic events of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado left 13 dead and 20 injured, protecting schools from the threat of mass shootings and other violence has been prevalent in the minds of many organizations and institutions. Unfortunately, it does not seem like enough has been done. Statistics show that there have been almost 70 more school shootings since Columbine and the number of days between school shootings decreased from an average of 124 days between 1999 and 2014 to just 77 between 2014 and 2018. These numbers are concerning and highlight the need for better security solutions for schools in order to not just keep students safe, but also engaged in the classroom.
Protecting the lives of students is obviously the most important aspect of school security, however, more benefits lie just below the surface. When a school is safe, the children can thrive in an encouraging environment that is not plagued with fear or disrupted with lock-downs. Safety can encourage them to be in school more often and be more involved in activities that keep them on campus. Students need to be able to see the location they learn in as a safe place that will help them grow, which is difficult with the near-constant news cycle of different schools somewhere in the nation whose security didn’t protect them well enough. Feeling secure at school can encourage better lives for its students- academically, socially, and emotionally.
There are a variety of school access solutions Isotec Security can provide:
- Automated security doors that can be programmed to suit your school’s unique needs and will pay for themselves in just a few years.
- Interlocking doors that can include card access systems so only authorized students, teachers, and staff can gain entry to a building.
- Walkthrough metal detector door systems that can immediately prevent entry the second a weapon is detected.
All schools must provide a safe and secure environment if students are to thrive academically, socially, and culturally. At Isotec Security, we understand that teachers, students, and parents are all worried about safety in schools. We have crafted hundreds of unique security solutions for existing buildings around the country. With our custom-made safety entrances, schools won’t just feel safer, threats will be stopped before they even start.
The last major school fire in the US was in 1958 and claimed the lives of 90 students. Following that incident, schools and the government came together to ensure a tragedy like it would never happen again. Municipalities achieved this level of safety thanks to a layered approach towards creating safer schools. They changed the way schools were designed alongside the materials used in construction. Building codes were revised to improve safety and make it easier for occupants to exit a building in the case of an emergency. Fire drills and safety training for both students and teachers were also implemented. Together, these changes virtually eliminated the number of fire-related fatalities in schools.
At Isotec, we believe this mindset can be applied towards preventing mass shootings in schools and overall school violence. We apply this same zero risk tolerance when working on security doors and other solutions necessary to reducing risk and threats of violence.
Schools that consider layered, risk-appropriate security measures and responses that are suitable for their community and resources are taking the right approach. Implementing something as simple as access control with security doors can make a big difference. The access control ensures only authorized individuals like students and faculty have entrance into the building. This is often paired with rapid weapon detection to ensure no dangerous items are allowed inside, as often authorized individuals are the ones enacting the violence. We suggest other layered security measures that are not subject to single points of failure, like walk-through metal detectors, which are vital to deterring and detecting threats and keeping schools safe in addition to security doors for schools.
Although metal detectors and security doors for schools are extremely important, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to security. When looking into security solutions for schools, it’s important to remember that what may be necessary for one grade level may be too much for another. For example, weapons detection with access control might be a little excessive in an elementary school and insufficient for a high school. Thus, understanding the nature of the most concerning threats and how to mitigate risks at different locations is important to school security.
Controlling the entrances for schools is critical, but only a part of a comprehensive plan. Protecting students requires a variety of security solutions along with safety training and drills for staff and students alike. The more thorough these processes are, and the more comprehensive the security solutions, the more positive outcomes schools will see when it comes to student safety.
At Isotec Security, we realize that school access solutions are not one-size-fits-all, and that’s why when you work with us, we’ll work with you to understand your school’s form, fit, and function to design a security solution that meets your needs. Contact us today to learn more.
We are honored to be Designed Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology by the Department of Homeland Security. We have several base products listed under our GSA contract and are privileged to have crafted unique systems for several top government facilities. Please reach out to see what our team can do to create the perfect Safety Entrance for you.