Cameras, sensors, badges: US school security tech advances

Despite the differences in philosophies, with the fledgling Go-to-Green looking to provide a pathway to safety to get students and staff away from danger, and the established Centegix providing quick access to notifying law enforcement for help, the purpose of school security systems is the same: keeping the school site safe from harm in the simplest way possible. — Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

School shootings continue to happen, with seemingly another incident being reported every time society is ready to move on from the last. Recently, communities in Oxford, Mich., and Uvalde, Texas, dealt with their own tragedies in November 2021 and May 2022, respectively. The trend has schools scrambling for answers, whether it be panic buttons or public information centres. And while some may insist that schools aren't equipped to both teach and prevent these things from happening, the reality is that there is now a heightened importance to having functioning security systems on K-12 school campuses to keep students and staff members safe.

The options are growing. With systems from companies such as Go-to-Green in Texas and Centegix in Georgia, among a plethora of others, schools have the tools necessary to secure their respective campuses. For Go-to-Green, which was founded and is headed by former Seal Team Six, Army Ranger and Delta Force member Ernie Williams, their goal is to provide a path to safety in the event of an emergency — whether it be natural disaster or an active shooter. The company installs LED lights, a circuit board, cameras and microphones hooked up to sensor boards and syncs it with a gunshot detection software. In the simplest of terms, when an emergency situation arises, the lights either show a steady red colour or blink green, with students and staff meant to follow the green lights to safety; a blinking red and blue light identifies where a shooter is located.