back to school priorities

·     Question: What is the cardinal sin for kids going back to school?
 
·     Answer: Realizing that you are wearing the same set of clothes as someone else on the first day of school.
 
·     Question: What is the cardinal sin for school officials going back to school?
 
·     Answer: Realizing that your school’s security is lacking. 
 
Don’t commit this kind of mistake. School security is not something that should be taken lightly or that should be thought of as merely a check mark on a list of to-do's. 

Figure 1

There is so much that schools need to do to be prepared for the upcoming school year, but more important than fun classroom decorations, awesome assembly plans, or even having good snacks stocked into the faculty room refrigerator. 
 
We stay in nearly constant contact with our software team to continually be ensuring that DIR-S will be the best program our clients have ever worked with. Since it is meant to be used in all kinds of emergency situations, we understand the weight of this importance. 
 
All schools know that security protocols and systems are important, but many do not understand what all they need, and the importance of drilling regularly with what they have. This is why DIR-S has been able to reduce reaction times so much. Having hardware and protocols already in place is fantastic, and we are not looking to replace any of those. We just want to help them work together more smoothly.
 
No matter what systems you have in place, the most important thing is that they can all work together effectively. DIR-S fills that need of tying everything together by offering an easy to use, and thorough, channel of communication that is meant to be used in emergency situations. 

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Figure 2

When an alert is started, there are several different tabs that can be used. 
 
There is a report tab (figure 1) where you can see if there have been any students reported as missing. Any teacher or responder can report, and mark students as found on this tab. 
 
On the chat tab (figure 2), there are several different options. There is the “Global Chat” where everyone connected to that school can send messages and communicate. This is where admin and responders will send out specific instructions as to what to do, and also updates as to the status of the incident and those involved. 
 
Also on the chat tab, responders or school/district officials can select to speak directly to a specific person, ie: if there is a student having an allergic reaction in their room, they do not necessarily need to be on the chat board that everyone can see. 

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Figure 3

 Next to the names of each teacher on the chat tab, there is a small phone icon that changes color depending on the status of their classroom, e.g. “Safe” or “Unsafe.” This icon can also be used for responders and officials to call that teacher directly on their personal phone. 
 
The third tab (figure 3) is the location tab. This tab allows you to access the interactive map of your school and indicate your location. While in this, you indicate whether your room is safe or unsafe, also whether or not you need medical assistance. This status can be changed and updated at any time throughout the incident. 
 
DIR-S is not just an excellent tool for alerting people about situations, but it provides clear and concise communication throughout the ordeal. 
 
This is so important because as situations continue to develop and unfold, teachers need to be able to keep others updated, and even escalate the alert if the initial status worsens. 
 
DIR-S has proven itself over and over again, and one of the main things that we make clear when we are showing it to people is that it is not meant to replace whatever they might already have in place. It is meant to work with the programs and protocols you already have, and help them to work together in a better harmony to help reaction times to emergencies be cut down to seconds.  

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