“Byron-Bergen Central School District continues to value that our most important priority is keeping our students and staff safe,” said District Superintendent Casey Kosiorek. To that end, the district has added the New York State Sheriff’s Association (NYSSA) Rapid Responder® Program to their crisis management and emergency preparedness plans. The new program uses cutting-edge technology to give school personnel and all first responders immediate access to emergency response information, enabling clear communication and quick, coordinated action.
Rapid Responder, an all-hazards site-based crisis management system, is utilized in schools nationwide and Canada. The system brings school officials and first responders from diverse agencies together on a single digital platform, giving everyone instant access to site-specific emergency response information, including floor plans, aerial views, hazardous material locations, utility shut-off information, evacuation plans and live camera feeds.
Byron-Bergen CSD Director of Facilities Michael List said, “We are expanding the dialogue between the district and responders from local law enforcement, fire and medical departments. We have already found areas for improvement that will enable responders to better handle many emergency scenarios in our schools. The new Rapid Responder system helps make that possible.”
List added, “We recently completed detailed site visits and are now reviewing all the data. The next step in implementation will be training and drills with local responders based on different emergency and daily security situations to test all portions of the system.”
Implementation of the Rapid Responder Program is part of the district’s solid commitment to safety and security in the schools. Current security for the district includes a comprehensive visitor management system, Raptor®, which will utilize visitor background checks, as well as generate ID badges in all three schools and the district office. A large security camera system oversees buildings and grounds, and will now tie into Rapid Responder using their capability to integrate IP based cameras. The district also recently welcomed School Resource Officer Matt Butler to the staff.
“In a world of seemingly increased violent incidents, we are proud to put an additional measure in place to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Kosiorek. “I want to thank our team – Mike List, Transportation Coordinator Drew Doll, School Business Official William Snyder, the building principals and Deputy Butler for all their work with the overall safety of the organization, and most recently with the implementation of the NYSSA Rapid Responder Program.”
Over 16,000 facilities nationwide have implemented Rapid Responder (www.preparedresponse.com/New-York-Sheriffs-Rapid-Responder-Program.html) which has been SAFETY Act Certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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