Safety System: Newly installed devices aim to speed up SM East’s emergency response

In April, SM East staff will start wearing special badges they can use to signal for help. The badges connect staff to the new Centegix devices installed in the classrooms and hallways as a new district alert system for medical and safety emergencies.

“What you are seeing in your schools are called ‘beacons,’” Deputy Superintendent David Stubblefield said. “For example, if you are in math class and there is a medical emergency in that room, that teacher can press a button on their badge and alert people.”

The badges signal two types of alerts. Three presses on the badge will alert local responders with the room number and location of the crisis. Eight presses will alert the whole district and local law enforcement for larger emergencies, such as a lockdown.

“This is really just another layer of safety support for our schools,” Stubblefield said. “And one of the things that we find over and over, whether it’s a medical emergency or if there’s a safety issue in our school… the faster we can get help to that specific location, the better off we’ll be.”

According to Stubblefield, the beacon devices installed on school ceilings do not record audio or video.

The school board approved the $2.6 million system in November after SMSD Chief of Police Mark Schimdt had done research on these programs for several years. 

“We did have several of our neighboring school districts implement this alert system,” Stubblefield said. “And so we decided that we needed an extra layer of security for our staff and students.”