Allegion Ramps Up K-12 School Security Resources
Allegion, a global provider of security products and solutions, announced its 2014 line-up of resources and services designed to help schools assure that they are providing students and staff with safer schools. Administrators, security and maintenance personnel can choose from a menu of training courses, seminars and webinars, face-to-face meetings at leading trade shows and professional K-12 conferences, funding help, new products designed specifically for K-12 applications and free security assessments.
Allegion will be offering a variety of training courses, seminars and webinars to keep administrators abreast of technology and trends in school security. This year, Allegion is serving up two new options. K-12 administrators can choose from an instructor-led course “School Locking Hardware” offered in cities across the U.S. or the Power Hour Webinar Series covering a variety of thought leadership topics. Dates and topics are listed on the Allegion website.
Through leading trade shows, education association support and professional events, Allegion education specialists are available for one-on-one discussions to share their expertise on lockdown, key system management and proven access control solutions. They will talk with administrators about their district’s specific goals and how to put a plan in place. Many of these trade shows and other scheduled events can be found on the Allegion website.
In their search on how to pay for security and safety upgrades, Allegion can also help schools identify funding allocations, key decision makers who manage grants, provide insight into grant applications and recommend grant writing resources. Allegion utilizes a 24/7 cloud-based database of federal and state grant funding information. Not only does this database provide access to all public and private grants for public and private schools but it additionally details who in the school must write the grant and relays the type of equipment that the grant will help purchase. Over $9 billion in funding has been identified.
Allegion has also created new products, specifically designed for K-12 schools. The first is a full suite of in-room locks with indicators. Visual indicators immediately alert a teacher or administrator to a door’s locked or unlocked status from inside the room, a beneficial feature both in everyday use as well as in emergencies. Additionally, the new Schlage CO-220 is an affordable, standalone lockdown solution that lets teachers press a button on a remote fob to initiate immediate lockdown in time of crisis from anywhere in their classroom.
Lastly, Allegion considers the safety and security of the staff and students in schools so important that it is offering complimentary security assessments at no charge. The starting point of such building security planning begins with a thorough audit of the facility’s current security state. Allegion’s free Building Security Site Assessment includes a walk-through of the facility by an Allegion Security & Safety Advisor to survey the building’s doors, entries and access points. This Security & Safety Advisor will then conduct an assessment of the facility for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility; fire, life and safety compliance; and access control system viability.