It’s a disturbing reality that some gunmen, criminals and sexual predators have been able to slip into U.S. schools. Consequently, parents, as well as school and community leaders, are demanding action to prevent further tragic results.
Schools, in concert with police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are focusing on communication as one of their top priorities. Knowing what is happening in routine and emergency situations, and understanding the best course of action to take, are deemed essential in keeping students, faculty and staff out of harm’s way.
Several school systems around the country are taking a proactive step by implementing a new, state-of-the-art alert service called the Immediate Response Information System. This high-speed notification and response service, also referred to as IRIS, sends emergency messages electronically to thousands of individuals in seconds.
A uniform message goes out from a single designated staff member using any phone or
Internet-connected computer. IRIS then transmits voice and text alerts to home or cell phones, e-mail accounts, digital pagers, PDAs, fax machines and other frequently...