Weather emergencies may not be top of mind when thinking about the school safety benefits of a visitor management system. However, when Hurricane Ian struck Florida in September 2022 that’s what Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) turned to for safety, accountability, and peace of mind. SCPS school buildings were utilized as shelters for the public, providing refuge for many. While this experience could have brought in non-weather related safety challenges, thankfully, the district was prepared with some innovative thinking and the help of great leadership and technology from Raptor Visitor Management.

Exploring this unique situation further, School Safety Today’s host Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Threat Management Coordinator, Sergeant Kyle Worthington of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

How was Raptor utilized to ensure the safety of its community members? Worthington spoke of how the system allowed schools to check in and out every guest, even ensuring any registered sex offenders were separated from students.

As the 12th largest school district in Florida, and the 60th largest in the nation, SCPS has also used Raptor Visitor Management for other purposes such as running reports at the end of the day to track teachers’ hours for grant-funded related training and other staff accountability measures involving building movement.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, Worthington said, “We kind of use technology to assist us in that layered approach, but more importantly it’s about partnerships. It’s about partnerships with the community because it takes a village. You need partnerships not only with your law enforcement agencies but all of your community organizations… at the end of the day, it’s about the students, keeping them safe.”

Sergeant Kyle Worthington, served 20 years in the Army and has been with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, for 16 years. He also works as the threat management coordinator for the local school district. SCPS enjoys a unique partnership whereby they are one of the only Florida school districts with a Sheriff’s Office Captain with oversight and responsibility over the district’s office of school safety.