In this featured piece by WJFW (NBC 12), the outlet reports on the Wausau School District’s rollout of a new visitor screening system called Visitor Aware, now implemented across all district schools. Diana White, coordinator of communications and marketing for the district, said the previous single-laptop checkpoint made it difficult to process large groups of visitors during busy school events. The district piloted the system at Lincoln Elementary School in the summer of 2023 before expanding it districtwide after positive feedback. White explained that the system checks visitor information against databases such as the sex offender registry and the FBI’s most wanted list, alerting administrators to intervene if any red flags appear.
Key Takeaways
- The Wausau School District implemented Visitor Aware, a new visitor screening system, across all of its schools.
- Diana White, coordinator of communications and marketing for the district, said the previous single-laptop checkpoint made it difficult to process visitors quickly during high-attendance events.
- The district piloted the system at Lincoln Elementary School in the summer of 2023 before expanding it to all schools after receiving positive feedback.
- The system checks visitor information against databases including the sex offender registry and the FBI’s most wanted list, showing a green check mark for cleared visitors.
- The district partners with the Wausau Police Department, Fire Department, and Sheriff’s Office, and encourages students to report concerns through Speak Out Speak Up Wisconsin.
Original Story
For many years, there have been unfortunate situations that may have made schools feel unsafe. However, in northern Wisconsin, a local school district is doing everything they can to protect their students. The Wausau School District has implemented a new security screening system to enhance safety. Diana White, the Coordinator of Communications and Marketing for the Wausau School District, said they previously had a checkpoint for visitors, but it relied on a laptop and only one station.
“Which was really difficult when we had events that would draw in a lot of parents or community members, there was just no quick way to get these people through so we knew they were safe and that they were supposed to be here,” said White. With safety as their number one priority, White said they are always looking for areas to improve.