CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Eight south suburban school districts are the among the first in Illinois to install a crisis management system that will better prepare emergency responders to protect students and staff during a crisis.
The Rapid Responder system provides school security and public safety agencies with instant computer access to floor plans, evacuation routes, aerial imagery and other information crucial to first responders.
Jim Finnell, president and CEO of Prepared Response, the company that developed the system, said it drives tactical decisions, such as where roadblocks and perimeters would be set up, along with the locations of command centers, triage areas and staging for media.
"The best part of the program is the collaboration we drive between the school folks and their emergency responders," Finnell said.
The school districts participating are Bloom Township High School District 206, Brookwood District 167, Chicago Heights District 170, Ford Heights District 169, CCSD District 168, Sandridge District 172, Steger District 194 and SPEED District 802.
Finnell said it's unusual to have this kind of collaboration between multiple districts, but it helped the logistics of putting "boots on the ground" to implement the program. Finnell said the collaboration on the Rapid Responder system began about 18 months ago.
"They were very proactive about wanting to protect their kids and staff," he said.
Bloom High School Assistant Principal Gregory Horak said the collaboration on this project, which was driven by Mark Sheahan, the district's assistant superintendent of business affairs, has been good for the school districts.
"It's been nice to meet the people who are running their facilities," he said. "Now, I have a name and a face if I need to call for something."
Horak was able to go to Seattle, where Prepared Response is headquartered, to get in-depth training on how to manage and update the digital files as needed. If changes are made to a building, Horak said he would be able to make the changes to the files, rather than hiring a contractor to do the work.
Horak said work on the system also opened lines of communication with first responders.
"We have a good working relationship with our police department. I think this just reinforced that seven- to 10-fold."
D.206 Superintendent Glen Giannetti said the project was a team effort.
"We could not have done this without the dedication and cooperation of local police and fire personnel who spent days working with us and other districts on safety planning, and the personnel from our district and other districts who put in the time to make the buildings safer for students," Giannetti said.
The Rapid Responder system is currently being used by more than 2,900 schools in 15 states. Finnell said his company also has worked with convention centers, airports and NFL stadiums.
