This is the fourth segment in a mini series around the 2025-26 MSAD 51 strategic priorities. This week we dig in deeper about our most recent school safety initiative: Crisis Alert by Centegix.
MSAD #51 has been strategically committed to continuous improvement with regards to safety for many years. In addition to acknowledging that society in general (and schools within society) has become more susceptible to violent acts, the district's Strategic Plan states: Students cannot learn and teachers cannot teach unless schools are safe. Said another way, our mission as an educational institution is diminished when safety is not addressed proactively.
The Safety and Security Committee began researching the idea of purchasing and installing a comprehensive safety alert system within the schools about three years ago, and we are happy that this planning has yielded a robust protocol, Crisis Alert, that went "live" today in all school buildings. A planning team has been working with the vendor since spring to implement Crisis Alert, which encompasses the following protective mechanisms:
- Security badges worn by all staff that can activate calls for both a school-level response and police response with a click of a button. Gone are the days when we relied on radios, phones, or word of mouth to get help in the instance of a serious issue or emergency. All staff members who work in our schools now have the ability to get immediate assistance when needed if safety and security may be compromised in the schools. Badge activation is pinpointed to the exact location to assist school and police responders.
- Administrators and staff can instantly activate school-wide visual and audio alerts much like that of other public buildings like hospitals, airports, etc. This activation is connected to the district's ALICE program.
- Comprehensive, digitized floor plans and safety assets updated in real time and shared with 1st responders in the case of an emergency.
- Digitized visitor management system that assists school staff through a quick process that verifies the identity of visitors and provides a basic background check.
The Centegix Crisis Alert system is one of many layers of existing safety and security protective layers that the schools have in place. To learn more about the district's safety planning, visit our dedicated webpage on this topic: https://www.msad51.org/apps/
Did you miss the first two segments of this series? Catch up here:
Summary of Priorities
New State Legislation involving Pre-K
New PK-5 Literacy Curriculum Resource: CKLA