News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Overton County Schools planning to have a new visitor management safety system in place at all schools by the start of the year.
Technology Supervisor Brent Thrasher said the schools already have all of the equipment in place and I.T. has been busy setting it up. He said school administration and other faculty members have been busy receiving training on the new system.
“Any time we roll out a new system there’s always a lot of questions and there’s always a learning curve no matter how simple the system is,” Thrasher said. “But that’s something that our administrators and office staff at each of the schools, they see the importance of something like this.”
Thrasher said this comes as the latest purchase through the school system’s Safe Schools Grant. He said the system will screen visitors as they enter the school by scanning a photo I.D. using a system in the front entrance. That system will run the I.D. through a database and alert the system if there are any red flags regarding that visitor.
Thrasher said parents and other visitors are already used to the camera system used to page the front office about why they are visiting. He said after that step, the change visitors need to be aware of is that an I.D. check will be required.
“One of our main focuses for the project is to have a better grasp of who’s in the building,” Thrasher said. “And if there’s any concerns about those who are visiting the building.”
Thrasher said the system is also compatible with the school system’s Skyward program. He said this will help attendance and record keepers with tardiness or early sign-outs.
In addition to the visitor management system, Thrasher said the new safe lock doors have been a success.
