October 8th, 2019 – 2:30 PM
Floyd County Schools Press Release –
Floyd County Schools (FCS) will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System to improve campus safety for students and faculty starting Monday, October 14, 2019. This is a hi-tech replacement to what used to be an old-school visitor sign-in sheet. The new ID card scanning system provides practically instant screening of visitors, contractors, and volunteers for sex offender status and custom alerts such as custody orders.
FCS will join the 22,000+ schools that use the software in the United States. The Raptor Visitor Management System currently flags over 40 sex offenders per day attempting to enter schools across the country. Custody and other school-specific issues are also a concern, and to date, more than 250,000 custody alerts have been issued nationally. The Raptor System is being piloted at Coosa Middle, Pepperell Middle, Model Elementary, Model Middle, Coosa High, Cave Spring Elementary, and Garden Lakes Elementary beginning Monday, October 14, 2019. Remaining FCS schools will implement Raptor beginning the first of November.
Upon check-in, each first-time visitor will be required to present their state or federal government-issued identification card. The Raptor system scans the ID and automatically checks each person entering school grounds against the national database of registered sex offenders, as well as against a custom alert database created by each district or school. Once a visitor is cleared by the Raptor system, a visitor badge is printed that includes a photo as well as the individual’s name, date, time of entry, and destination. If a potential threat is identified, the Raptor system sends instant alerts to designated staff via email and text.
“We’re excited to be incorporating Raptor in our schools,” said FCS Chief Safety and Security Officer Rick Flanigen. “People are checking in and out of campus constantly. It’s a revolving door of visitors, volunteers, and vendors, and the Raptor system offers an extra layer of protection. Whether it’s making sure a student is being released to the right parent who has custody or whether a volunteer, visitor, or vendor has been cleared to enter our campus, we know with Raptor we’re doing everything we can to keep our students and faculty safe.”
“Raptor has flagged a staggering 50,000 registered sex offenders attempting to enter K-12 schools,” said Jim Vesterman, CEO of Raptor Technologies. “It’s an effective tool to keep kids safe, and simply having the Raptor system in place acts as an important deterrent. A sex offender who knows a school is being protected by Raptor is less likely to try to gain access to that campus.”
ABOUT RAPTOR
Raptor Technologies is the nation’s leading developer of integrated school safety technologies for K-12 schools across the United States. Founded in 2002, Raptor’s mission is to protect every child, every school, every day. Raptor developed the first web-based visitor management system designed for schools and has flagged more than 50,000 registered sex offenders attempting to enter K-12 schools. To date, more than 22,000 schools in the U.S. use Raptor as part of their security system. For more information on the Raptor system visit www.raptortech.com