In this featured piece by WKOW (ABC 27), the outlet reports on the Madison Metropolitan School District’s rollout of a new visitor screening process across its schools using Visitor Aware from Singlewire Software. Visitors check in at a kiosk just inside school entrances by taking a photo and scanning a driver’s license, then selecting their destination within the building before receiving a printed badge if cleared. Chris Swietlik, director of communications for Singlewire Software, said the system creates a first line of defense for schools by flagging registered sex offenders or people on national watchlists and giving administrators visibility into visitor entry and exit times and destinations. Swietlik explained the software was originally created by a parent who noticed the check-in process at his child’s school was lax and wanted to streamline it while enhancing security.
Key Takeaways
- The Madison Metropolitan School District rolled out Visitor Aware, a visitor screening system from Singlewire Software, across schools throughout the district.
- Chris Swietlik, director of communications for Singlewire Software, said the system creates a first line of defense by flagging registered sex offenders or people on national watchlists during check-in.
- Administrators can view detailed visitor information, including entry and exit times and the specific building location a visitor plans to access.
- The visitor screening software was originally created by a parent who wanted to streamline his child’s school’s lax check-in process while enhancing security.
- A Madison Metropolitan School District spokesperson said Visitor Aware provides a streamlined sign-in experience along with enhanced accountability, emergency preparedness, and staff and visitor communication.
Original Story
The Madison Metropolitan School District introduced a new visitor screening process at schools throughout the district, as students, faculty and staff head back to school.
The check-in kiosk will be just inside the doors of schools. Visitors will have to take a photo and scan their drivers license. Then, select the location they are trying to go to in the school, like a front office or gym. From there, it will display a green check mark and print out a badge if the visitor passed the screening.
“This creates sort of a first line of defense for schools,” said Chris Swietlik, Director of Communications for Singlewire Software, the company who makes the visitor screening technology.