Student and staff safety of the utmost concern
ALMONT — The Almont school district has taken measures to insure the safety of all students and staff with a new security system that is connected directly to law enforcement.
The BluePoint Alert System was recommended by the 2022-23 Almont Community School Safety Committee to provide another layer of safety for all students and staff at each of the school buildings.
Almont Interim Superintendent Kimberly VonHiltmayer said, “Our district funded this project through two main sources: Section 97c (Michigan’s School Safety Grant) and the Lapeer County Law Enforcement Millage (Village of Almont).”
According to information in the district’s newsletter that details the new project, the BluePoint Alert System is a Rapid Emergency Response System (RERS) to be used in Active Threat or Medical Emergency situations.
Thanks to two different funding sources, Almont has installed a new security system to better protect their campus.
VonHiltmayer explained, “Officer Amanda Manning, our District’s School Resource Officer (SRO), serves on the Safety Committee along with many other school stakeholders (administration, teachers, and parents).”
She added, “Officer Manning was instrumental in recommending the BluePoint Alert System to provide another layer of safety for all students and staff. The system was installed this past summer.”
When activated, BluePoint Alert immediately alerts Police/EMS who instantly receive critical information which increases their effectiveness and decreases their response time.
Ultimately, district officials say reduced response time saves lives.
After activation, the system simultaneously, is notifying school leadership, students, teachers, and staff of the threat.
The system provides initial location of threat information to first responders and school administration.
Further, it includes two-way communication capability with a control center, which is a web-based communication portal that acts as the “hub” between facility stakeholders, law enforcement and building occupants.
After the pull stations and strobe alerts have been activated, the control center notifies stakeholders via automated text, email and voice notifications of the situation and instructs them regarding what emergency protocol procedures to take.
Vonhiltmayer said the system has her full support. “I am in full support of anything that we can do to further protect our students and staff from a potentially dangerous and/or life-threatening situation on campus. The BluePoint Alert System allows for a quicker response from law enforcement, enhances communication between our staff and first responders, and streamlines our lockdown procedures.”
The informational article went on to say the ‘Command Group’ can securely access the communications portal via any internet-enabled device, establishing a secure, two-way communication that coordinates first responders, communicates with occupants, and manages the overall situation quickly and efficiently.
The system instantly initiates emergency protocols and links the Command Group with live security camera videos, visual point identification (VPI) diagrams of the facility and emergency preparedness documents to ensure all vital information is available quickly and easily.
Designed with law enforcement’s input to speed both response times and the initiation of precautionary measures within facilities.
The system can provide detailed information on where the incident is located, and when the notification was received, so law enforcement knows exactly where to go when arriving on the
scene.
Because the pull stations function has a built-in location capability that is communicated via the wireless network, law enforcement is able to determine which pull station has been activated, giving them a clearer indication of the location of the shooter or where the threat originated.
BluePoint initiates the IMS protocols, enabling two-way communications with the appropriate stakeholders, such as teachers, identified office administrators, and any other trained staff members on the campus.
With this activated, law enforcement and first responders can be in constant communication with trained leaders inside the facility, keeping tabs on student headcounts, the status of the building’s protocol, the location of the threat, and any other information pertinent to the situation.
Making it known that the school has a police emergency notification system can serve as a deterrent from a threat being initiated within the building.
Almont School Resource Officer Manning pointed out, “Of course, my priority is safety for all students and staff in each of the buildings. The BluePoint Alert System signals everyone to get to a secured location immediately-ultimately saving lives!”
BluePoint is to be incorporated into ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter & Evacuate).
