High-profile Security
- By Monique Merhige
- Mar 01, 2017
With 150 miles of pristine coastline, 27 miles
of sublime beaches and an enticing overall
annual temperature of 72.7 degrees, it’s no
wonder that Manatee County is a magnet
for people looking for a great place to live
and work in Florida.
Led by a five-member school board and Superintendent Dr.
Diana Greene, the school district is Manatee County’s largest
employer with more than 5,300 employees and staff members.
Together, with the help of thousands of individual volunteers and
corporate business partners, the men and women of the Manatee
County School District work daily to enhance the community
by nurturing and sustaining the dreams and aspirations of more
than 46,000 students district-wide.
One of the main high schools in the district—Manatee
High School in Bradenton, Florida—was looking for a new ID
badge solution that would help keep their students and staff
safe and secure at all times. Manatee High School enrolls over
2,000 students in grades 9-12 and provides quality education to
Florida residents.
Facing the Challenges
The school has been in existence since 1926 and focuses heavily
on the well being and safety of their students. The main challenge
that the school faced was dealing with an open campus where
multiple people entered and exited the building on a daily basis.
The school wanted a way to keep track of
all visitors and ensure the school could
verify students and staff.
With 15 rooms in the high school that
included classrooms, a gymnasium, portable
classrooms and offices, the high school
needed a way to track all access points
throughout the campus.
Another issue the school faced was
tardy students wandering the halls after
classes started. It was important to confirm
the identity of late students and help
control who walked through the school’s
hallways. In today’s world, it’s imperative
to have an emergency system in place and
know who is in your building at all times.
There is no room for error and the school
was looking for an ID card solution that
could put their mind at ease.
A few years ago, high school staff
started looking for a new ID vendor when
they came across IDSecurityOnline.
“A huge challenge for the school was
continually having students lose or break
their ID badges and with our own printer
on-site we are able to print replacement
badges quickly.” said Adriana Olarte, discipline
secretary at Manatee High School.
Printers and Supplies
The school purchased two Evolis Primacy
printers from IDSecurityOnline to take
matters into their own hands by printing
ID badges on-site for all staff and students.
IDSecurityOnline also provided all
card printer supplies and badge accessories,
including lanyards.
All students, staff and visitors were
required to wear a photo ID badge and
no one would be allowed on the premises
without one. Each student badge includes
the student’s name, photo ID, graduation
year, and barcode. All employee badges
feature the staff member’s name, photo
and title.
Around 150-200 staff badges were
printed at the school and more than 1,000
cards were printed for new students. Also,
a high rate of badges were lost on an annual
basis and reprinted before or after
school by the school’s discipline secretary.
In addition, the student ID cards could be
scanned in the cafeteria to pull up important
account information on various lunch
programs available to the student.
“We are very satisfied with the solution
that we implemented and with the quality
of service that we received from IDSecurityOnline,”
said Olarte. “Having the right
ID card system helped us be more efficient
while enhancing security at the school.”
“Our goal is to work closely with our
customers and advise on the right ID
card printer that meets their needs,” said
George Ciottone, vice president of sales
at IDSecurityOnline. “We were right there
with Manatee High School to help them
select the best onsite printer that would be
able to handle a high frequency of badges
being printed at the school.”
The Importance of
Identifying Students
The school has reaped the benefits of an
ID card system by being able to account
for students even in an emergency. If a student
is sick, the school has the ability to
identify the student quickly with pertinent
information printed on the ID Badge and
contact family members quickly.
The importance of identifying a student
in an emergency situation is crucial
to schools everywhere. With the right solution,
schools can be prepared for any
type of emergency—large or small on a
moment’s notice. In addition, parents in
the community can relax knowing their
children are in good hands at all times
during the school year. With school lockdowns
on the rise, school administrators
need to ensure that all students are accounted
for with an ID card system that
requires everyone to wear their badges on
school grounds.
“We firmly believe in working with
schools across the country no matter how
much they have budgeted for security,”
said Gabriel Schonzeit, president of IDSecurityOnline.
“We would never turn
down a school based on budget and will
come up with the right ID card solution
on a case by case basis.”
Having the right ID card solution is
the first step to making schools safer not
only for students; but the staff members
who are dedicated to providing a quality
education for students. IDSecurityOnline
allows schools to focus on what they do
best—providing curriculums and activities
that help students succeed—without the
need to worry about security.
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Security Today.