Saint Hilary School empowers its staff and enhances safety

The new Verizon solution provides Saint Hilary School with an emergency communication solution that combines high reliability with low visibility—serving as an unobtrusive, just-incase solution while day-to-day learning continues ahead. Here are just some of its benefits:

• Greater school safety
  The goal of the new Verizon solution is clear—greater safety for its students and staff during emergencies. “Emergency preparation is a journey, and we’re constantly looking for new ways to make our campus safer,” says Dr. Bordeleau. “But I think that our school is safer with the new Verizon system in place.” Reaction from the school community—which was informed of the school’s adoption of the new system via principal talks and newsletters—has been very positive. “Having the solution in place is very helpful to our parents, who are naturally very concerned about school safety,” says Dr. Bordeleau. “They’re thrilled that we have the push-to-talk devices and very supportive of what we’re doing to increase safety.”
  
  
• Fast, reliable push-to-talk voice communication
  Voice, versus text or emails, empowers all users to be heard if or when the unthinkable actually happens—a campus intruder, an imminent natural disaster, a lockdown or evacuation. Dr. Bordeleau described the benefits of real-time voice delivery in a brief handbook that she wrote and distributed to the school staff:
  
  Unlike traditional messaging systems where there may be a delay in message delivery, Push to Talk provides instant and live voice communication. This feature is crucial in situations where immediate response is required, such as emergency situations, when seconds can make a significant difference.
  
  Fast and direct, voice communication gets attention when it’s needed most.
  
  
• Clear, reliable communication within the campus and beyond
  The reliable Verizon network provides exceptional connectivity on campus and beyond. The Saint Hilary School campus is relatively small, but long and narrow— encompassing classroom buildings, a church and a rectory. The Verizon solution provides efficient campus-wide communication capabilities to all staff members. Even those in buildings on the outer edges of the campus can communicate quickly—when and if necessary. Off campus, the Kyocera flip phones can also be used for communication during field trips. And in the event of an evacuation or other school-wide relocation, the solution would enable staff to coordinate movement—and ensure safety.
  
  
• Quick connection to emergency responders
  The Verizon solution enables all staff members to communicate with emergency responders quickly, without having to locate and enter the number for local fire or police departments. One press of the flip phone’s push to talk button connects them to emergency personnel. During an actual emergency, responding officers would know what’s happening before arriving on campus.
  
  
• A right-sized solution
  As a smaller school, Saint Hilary School didn’t need an elaborate or expensive solution. It needed reliable, state-ofthe- art emergency communication at the right price. The simplicity of the Verizon solution and relatively low number of flip phones reduced the overall cost. And by reserving use of the system for emergencies only, the school’s ongoing connectivity charges are lower than if the phones were in day-to-day use. The cost of the school’s safety and emergency preparedness package—including campus improvements and the Verizon solution—was covered by contributions by school parents at a recent school fundraising auction.
  
  
• Reassurance for prospective families
  In addition to the current parent community, prospective families have also responded positively to the Verizon solution. “I give tours to families that visit our school,” says Lidiette Ratiani, director of marketing, advancement and admissions at Saint Hilary School. “The fact that we’re paying such close attention to the physical security of our campus—and that we’ve invested in the Verizon solution and new emergency phones—is a great capability that prospective parents really appreciate. It’s not a selling point, of course, but in a time when school safety is top of mind, it’s reassuring to know that we’re prepared.”