In this featured piece by Channel 3000, the outlet reports that the Madison Metropolitan School District is implementing Visitor Aware, facial recognition software from Madison-based Singlewire Software, at its school entrances to identify visitors and cross-reference their identities against government watchlists, sex offender registries, and other legal databases. Terry Swanson, president and CEO of Singlewire Software, said the technology lets teachers, students, and staff feel confident that anyone entering the building has been screened. Gina Aguglia, director of cross systems and critical response for MMSD, said the system also gives the district a quick, accurate headcount in the event of an emergency, and the district will continue working with families to pre-register through existing systems even as paper sign-in sheets are phased out.
Key Takeaways
- The Madison Metropolitan School District is implementing Visitor Aware, facial recognition software from Singlewire Software, at its school entrances.
- Visitor Aware cross-references visitor identities with government watchlists, sex offender registries, and other legal databases.
- Gina Aguglia, MMSD’s director of cross systems and critical response, said the system gives the district a quick, accurate headcount of everyone in a building during an emergency.
- Funding for the system comes from the district’s technology department and is largely supported by a federal grant, with the district paying $177,000 over three years.
- Visitor Aware is one component of a broader district safety and security plan modeled on the Department of Justice’s school safety framework.
Original Story
The Madison Metropolitan School District is implementing facial recognition software at its schools entrances that identifies visitors and cross-references their identities with government watchlists, sex offender registries and other legal databases.
The software, called Visitor Aware, was created by Madison-based technology company Singlewire Software.
“So if you are a teacher, if you’re a student, if you’re a staff member at Madison schools… with Visitor Aware you know and can feel comfortable that any person that’s entering the building has been screened,” said Singlewire President and CEO Terry Swanson.
MMSD safety officials say aside from the identification features, the technology will allow schools to keep a headcount in case of an emergency.