Due to efforts of one local student, Mason County Middle School will be receiving five years of free setup and service from Guard911.
The Guard911 app was created to lower the response time of officers during emergencies. Staff of school districts download the app on their phones and in the event of an emergency, they can press the panic button which will immediately send out an alert to all federal, state and local law enforcement officers on and off duty, according to Tim Guy, marketing consultant for Guard911.
Kynedee Mauney put together a presentation on the app during the Amazing Shake contest.
Her presentation was sent to the owner of the Hero911 program, which runs Guard911, who was interested in her pitch to the school, according to Guy.
Mauney said she was surprised by the offer from Hero911.
“I’m glad it went really well,” she said. “It’s a good opportunity for the middle school and the district. I never imagined this would happen. When I started the project, it was about highlighting school safety all around the world. I felt like I would be safer with Hero911 in the district.”
On Monday, Guy showed a training video on how to use the app.
According to the video, when the button on the app is pressed, it speed dials 911, alerts all of school Guard users as well as all other Guard properties within five miles and alerts law enforcement.
There is also an option for teachers and staff to contact each other through the app, without needing to alert law enforcement, in the case of a fight or other non-emergency situations.
“The alerts will go off within the geo-fence,” Guy said. “You have to be within the geo-fence to send an alert, but you can receive them anywhere. If there is an active shooter at a school, and you have students on a field trip, that bus driver will receive the alert and know to not bring the kids back.”
A geo-fence is a virtual geographic boundary, defined by GPS or RFID technology, that enables software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area.
According to Guy, the map within the app will show the location of the person who sent out the alert. It will also show which officers have acknowledged the alert.
“We’re trying to cut down on response times,” Guy said.
Guy also played one of the 911 calls from the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Conn. Sandy Hook was the site of a school shooting in 2012 in which children and staff were killed by an active shooter.
“It took two minutes for officers to be notified,” he said. “During the Parkland shooting, it took four minutes for officers to be notified. We’re not trying to take away from dispatch. We’re trying to add to the response time.”
Guy said there was a situation where a principal at a school was trying to show staff how to use the app and accidentally set off the alert.
“One officer was there within one minute and within three minutes, 11 others were there,” he said. “It does work.”
Bracken County Superintendent Jeff Aulick, who was at the presentation asked several questions regarding using the app in the district.
Aulick also asked about removing staff from the app should they leave the district.
“How easy would it be to deactivate staff when they leave the district?”
Guy said it was simple process.
“Every building has a gate keeper,” Guy said. “They can go into the system and delete the person. It’s very simple. There is also a lock on there, so if someone is put on administrative leave, the gate keeper can go in and click the lock, removing that access until they return to the district. The activation code for initial set up is a one-time code and is unique to the person, so they can’t share it with anyone.”
Aulick also asked if there is a fine for misusing the app.
In the program contract, a $500 fine may be imposed for false alarms.
Guy said he has yet to see a district be fined.
“We’ve had districts set off false alarms,” he said. “There was one that set it off and a month later, set off a false alarm. They weren’t charged. If it kept happening, my boss may have been inclined to charge the fine. It’s there just to make sure the app isn’t misused.”
After the presentation on the app, Guy presented Mauney with a plaque honoring her dedication to Hero911 and announced the company would set up a geo-fence around Mason County Middle School and provide monitoring services for free for five years.
MCMS Principal Jamie Thomas said he is excited to have the app coming to the middle school.
“It’s just incredible to receive a five-year activation,” he said. “We met with the company awhile back and they had mentioned a possible one-year activation, but they said they wanted it to follow Kynedee through her school career. Hopefully, we can get it in the rest of the district, too.”
Mason County Superintendent Rick Ross said he hopes to see the program in every school building.
“We’re very excited about it,” he said. “My intention is to go before the board and take care of the other schools as well. We’ve been looking at this for quite awhile and Kynedee has just helped to expedite everything. To get it for five years for free, we’re excited. It will help make our school safe.”
Mason County Sheriff Patrick Boggs said he believes the app is one of the best programs available for emergencies.
“My hope is that all schools will get it, the public and the private schools, and the other area schools,” he said. “Nothing against dispatch, but this is an immediate notice for all of us to be on the way at the same time dispatch is getting the information. Any time you can cut down the time elapsed between us and something bad happening, we have a greater chance of preventing more causalities or injuries, not to mention it’s another way for schools to communicate with their staff. In my research, it’s the best program out there.”
