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How South Gibson closed a hidden security gap with visitor management

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Gibson high school

2,800

K-12 students protected

4

Campuses using visitor self check-in and screening

0

Complaints from happy front office staff

Challenge

Challenge

A school visitor policy that wasn’t as secure as it seemed

Rated a Four Star school by the Indiana Department of Education, South Gibson School Corporation has an enrollment of around 2,800 students, ranging in age from kindergarten through grade 12.

With dozens of parents, guardians, contractors, and other guests visiting their schools every day, South Gibson had a school visitor policy that they thought worked well enough. They were signing in visitors manually on a clipboard, writing them a name badge, and trusting that guests were who they claimed to be. But after Dan Lienemann, South Gibson's school resource officer looked more closely at their security processes, he knew that depending on a pen and paper process school visitor management was leaving too much room for risk.

Explains Dan, who’s also a Gibson County Sheriff, “Like a lot of schools, South Gibson had been giving people the benefit of the doubt. We didn’t ask for identification or anything. Once we learned that Securly could provide a safer way to check in school visitors and confirm that students are being released to only approved parents or caregivers, we knew we needed it.”

Testimonial

We didn't realize how badly we needed Visitor until we started diving into our security procedures. We were using a simple badge system and trusting that visitors picking up students were who they claimed to be. With Visitor, we know for sure who a visitor is and that they’re authorized to be there or pick up that student.

Dan Lienemann photo
Dan Lienemann

School Resource Officer,
South Gibson School Corporation

Solution

Solution

A school visitor management system that automates visitor check-in and verifies student pickup

South Gibson was already using Securly for online student safety, student wellness, and classroom management. When they learned about Securly Visitor, a visitor management system designed specifically for K-12 schools, they decided to learn more. Once front office staff realized that Visitor would be a welcome change — one that could also help them do their jobs more efficiently and safely — the decision to move ahead was an easy one.

The Securly team made sure South Gibson’s student and parent contact data was imported, and helped them configured their settings to meet their unique needs. Securly Visitor app was installed on an iPad to provide visitor self check-in, taking the place of the old clipboard — and taking the burden off of front office staff.

Dan explains, “We chose to implement Visitor one building at a time. We started with the high school and ran it for two weeks. The Securly team helped us work through a few glitches and get things running smoothly, and then we implemented it in the other buildings. It was really easy. I worked with it myself and worked alongside the front office staff to help them use it.”

Outcomes

Outcomes

Peace of mind that students are being protected

With Securly Visitor, the security gaps South Gibson didn’t even realize they had are a thing of the past. The school system now has confidence and peace of mind knowing that their campuses and students are safe. Each guest is prompted to provide identification and is automatically screened to confirm they aren’t a sex offender. If they’re requesting to pick up a child, they’re screened against parent custody records and verified for pickup before the child is released. Front desk staff can rest easy knowing that visitors are being screened and, if a situation arises, help from the school’s security personnel is only a click away.

With Securly Visitor, South Gibson is now able to:

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Protect the safety of 3,000 K-12 students on its campuses

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Improve the security of its four school locations and central office, and its 200 staff members

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Know that visitors to campus have been screened and accounted for

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Ease the burden on busy front office staff by automating visitor management and screening

Experience for yourself the peace of mind that a school visitor management system provides

Before Securly Visitor, South Gibson School Corporation didn’t think to question if visitors were really who they claimed to be and were safe to allow on campus. Now, with Securly Visitor in place, school staff have confidence and peace of mind knowing exactly who is on campus at all times, and that students are only being released to approved adults.

To keep your students and school safe, you need to know who’s on your campus and ensure that students are being released only to approved adults. Busy front office staff can only do so much. Let Securly Visitor help.

Ready to see for yourself how Securly Visitor automates and simplifies school visitor management?

Register for a demo