District Tests Panic App

A FEW GLITCHES Still TO WORK OUT

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER This is what the new panic button app looks like on a smart phone. Schools in Arkansas are required to have the system in place by Sept. 1. When activated, the app calls 911 and sends immediate texts out to teachers in the school district who have the app on their phones or registered as part of the system.
LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER This is what the new panic button app looks like on a smart phone. Schools in Arkansas are required to have the system in place by Sept. 1. When activated, the app calls 911 and sends immediate texts out to teachers in the school district who have the app on their phones or registered as part of the system.

FARMINGTON -- Farmington school officials, the school's resource officer and staff with Washington County Emergency Management Department met on school grounds Thursday morning to test a new panic button phone app designed to help with school safety.

School districts in Arkansas now have access to an emergency alert button, called the Rave Panic Button, that is part of the School Safety Act of 2015. School districts are required to install the systems by Sept. 1. The panic button alert program is integrated with the Smart 911 system.

Those testing the app included John Luther and Daryl Pemberton, director and assistant director with emergency management; school Superintendent Bryan Law, school resource officer Chad Parrish and other school administrators and teachers.

"We wanted to see how it works with a control group," Law said, meeting with the others at Ledbetter Intermediate School. About 12 Ledbetter teachers and several school administrators have downloaded the app and were on hand to help with the tests.

"The main point today is to see how it works," Law said.

Luther said the system could be a good thing, but notes the program was "thrust" on schools and emergency personnel without a lot of explanation.

"We have a concern (if) it will deliver what it advertises," Luther said.

The state Department of Emergency Management signed a $950,000 contract with Rave Mobile Safety of Framingham, Mass., to provide the panic button phone apps for employees of Arkansas public schools.

State legislators unveiled the emergency button during a news conference Aug. 10 at the state capitol. It will be implemented at more than 1,000 schools across Arkansas during the 2015-16 school year. While a school district is required to implement the system, teachers are not required to download the app.

When a teacher or other school employee touches the app, it brings up another screen that gives the person the opportunity to push a specific button to alert the 911 dispatch center about the type of emergency involved. Choices are active shooter, medical, police, fire or other. Once a specific button is activated, 911 is contacted and text messages are sent out to all other school employees who have the app on their smart phones or are registered with the program.

During the tests last week, the app responded as promised in some ways, but officials also noticed a few bugs need to be worked out.

Standing in the office at Ledbetter, Law activated the app for active shooter and immediately others in the room received text messages warning them about an active shooter reported by Bryan Law. A 911 operator received a phone call from the app and called Law to get more information.

The problem was information in the 911 center showed that the call came from Bois D'arc Street, not the address of Ledbetter school.

The group tested another phone and that time the 911 center showed the location of the caller as 69 W. Hill St., which is near Bois D'Arc Street. Another test gave a location of 3648 Providence, near the Fayetteville Boys and Girls Club. In another test, the 911 dispatch center showed the call was coming from behind Bradley's Doughnut Shop in Farmington.

As part of the system, a school downloads information into the program. Law, for example, set up four geofields for Ledbetter: one for the playground, the main school building, the annex building and the gym. The idea is that 911 will be able to tell which building a panic button call comes from.

The panic button is only supposed to work within geofields set up by the school and officials found that this was the case. Julia Williams, Ledbetter principal, went to Farmington's Neighborhood Market store and pushed the active intruder button. No one on campus received any text alerts about an active intruder because she was outside the geofield boundaries.

Luther said he is baffled why the 911 dispatch center is not plotting the correct address for the panic button and relayed his concerns to a Rave customer service representative during the test.

Pemberton said some of the problems could be the location of cell towers, different cell phone carriers and the buildings themselves.

The Rave customer service representative asked to receive all information from the calls and said she would forward the data so it could be analyzed to solve any issues.

Parrish said the fact the app sends out immediate texts to other school employees about an emergency is a good thing. Local emergency personnel in Farmington can be registered to receive texts along with school employees. Farmington police are familiar with teachers and would know where to respond, Parrish said. Other emergency responders, though, would need exact locations to respond to situations.

Law said what he likes best about the app is that once a teacher or school employee hit the button, "I got a text message in half a second. That's great communication."

Luther said his office would send out letters to other school districts in Washington County about conducting tests.

"We want to see it work because we're stuck with it," Luther said, adding that, ideally, the system should have been tested with a few districts before requiring all schools statewide to start using it.

"We're trying to implement it on the fly as school starts," Luther said.

Luther said he will continue to talk with Rave representatives and phone carriers in the area about providing accurate location data.

"At the end of the day," Luther said, "we're concerned about safety for our teachers and kids and we want to make sure we're there for them."

General News on 08/26/2015