NEWTOWN, CT – The Newtown Public School District has implemented a new school safety system that directly connects first responders with a school’s important safety information, according to Safe and Sound Schools, a Sandy Hook-based nonprofit created after the tragic shootings of December 2012. The cloud-based system is called NaviGate Preparedå¨ which stores important school safety plans, call lists, personnel photos, building maps, 360-degree photos and more in a secure cloud storage system.
NaviGate Preparedå¨ allows first responders, 911 dispatchers and law enforcement immediate access to the school’s important safety information, its website states, and apps within the program allow teachers and staff immediate access to step-by-step directions to account for students during drills and emergencies.
Michele Gay, mother of 7-year-old Sandy Hook victim, Josephine, past teacher, and co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools, was instrumental in bringing the system to Newtown Public Schools and travels the nation speaking to groups and organizations about safety initiatives to help schools prepare for and respond to an emergency.”We all felt safe in our peaceful town and in our high-ranking schools. We learned, too painfully, that we were not. Gaining entry to our locked school-and access to our beloved children and teachers-was as simple as breaking a glass window,” Gay said in a statement. “The measures, plans, and procedures we relied upon failed us, tragically. Despite our sorrow, and though we come from a variety of backgrounds, we are united in our mission: To better protect our schools. To provide safe schools, secure schools, for our children and educators. And to help others do the same in their communities.”
