Defywire Mobile Guardian Back to School Safety Checklist

Defywire is dedicated to keeping students and teachers safe with their real-time wireless data to school administrators on Wi-Fi-enabled PDAs. This system gives administrators access to information that was previously only in the front office and could not be accessed at a moments notice. It gives administrators emergency and truancy information, class schedules, grades, and other critical student information wherever and whenever they needed it--in the gym or on the playground.

The have also created this Back to School Safety Checklist that is great information for all parents:

BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY CHECKLIST
1. Designate an out-of-town person for your child to call in the event of a crisis. When emergencies happen, cell sites in the local area get completely overwhelmed, and a call from one local tower to another is unlikely to be completed.

2. Tell your child to use a short text message code with an agreed-upon meaning in an emergency. A pre-set word such as “stars” could quickly and safely convey the message, “I am in danger at school.”

3. Choose a social networking website as a back-up way to communicate when all else fails. When cell phone lines were jammed at Virginia Tech, students reverted to Internet sites such as Facebook to tell loved ones that they were safe and where they were located.

4. Make sure that the school has all of your up-to-date contact information. In today’s world, cell phone numbers and email addresses change frequently, but parents often forget to update this crucial information with school officials.

5. Know the school’s emergency plan and practice it. Go to PTA meetings, open houses and other school events where emergency procedures are likely to be presented as a handout.

These are terrific suggestions you may not have considered as a way to help protect the safety of your child. Make a plan and keep your child safe this school year.