HOUSTON, Oct. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raptor Technologies® and Safe Kids Inc.® announce a partnership to expand their mission in keeping schools safe. As in-person learning returns for schools across the U.S., so does the potential for school-based violent incidents. Many school districts are simultaneously facing a difficult decision to cut spending on safety training curriculum due to unforeseen COVID-related expenses. To help schools receive the training they critically need during this time, customers of Raptor Technologies can receive the Safe Kids H.E.R.O. Program at no cost for one school year, providing millions of students access to empowerment-based learning with social and emotional components.
“Raptor’s mission to protect every child, every school, every day aligns very well with the Safe Kids Inc. mission to provide safety curriculum that prevents violence while empowering students and educators to turn safe thinking into safe action,” said Jim Vesterman, CEO of Raptor Technologies. “By Raptor clients leveraging the Safe Kids training, schools now have a more thorough way to manage today’s safety challenges.”
Raptor solutions support emergency preparation, response, and recovery for school administrators and teachers, and the Safe Kids H.E.R.O. Program focuses on building critical thinking skills and actionable response during an incident for students. This important connection gives schools the ability to prepare and respond to emergencies comprehensively, inclusive of all individuals on a campus.
“At a time when there is growing scrutiny on the adverse effects on students and staff related to active shooter drills, the H.E.R.O. Program was specifically designed by experts in education, psychology, and law enforcement to be age-appropriate and non-threatening,” said Adam Coughran, President of Safe Kids Inc. “All H.E.R.O. curriculum and drills have been vetted by parents, teachers, and school psychologists through rigorous real-world pilot programs.” Safe Kids Inc. is also a proud affirmer of the National Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education, developed by FEMA and the American Red Cross.
“Safe Kids and Raptor complement each other and are great partners to keep our kids safe during the school year,” said Russell Lee-Sung, Superintendent at Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California.
Features of the H.E.R.O. Program include age-appropriate student facing curriculum, professional development for staff, drill and scenario guides, an accessibility guide for students with special needs, and other materials specific to violence prevention.
The Raptor Emergency Management platform enables schools to maintain real-time visibility during drills, active incidents, as well as reunification events and fully integrates with the Raptor Visitor and Volunteer platforms so that everyone on campus is accounted for. Adding in H.E.R.O. curriculum empowers students during drills and active incidents through age-appropriate safety training.
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About Raptor Technologies®
Raptor Technologies is the nation’s leading provider of integrated school safety technologies for K-12 schools across the United States. Founded in 2002 with the mission to protect every child, every school, every day, Raptor® solutions include Raptor Visitor Management, Raptor Emergency Management, and Raptor Volunteer Management on one integrated platform. Released in 2020, Raptor Alert, a mobile panic button solution and school emergency notification system expedites awareness and response to localized incidents and school- or district-wide emergency situations with the touch of a button. The Raptor system also enables schools to screen students, staff, and visitors with optional custom health-related questions and to run detailed reports to help facilitate contact tracing.
Raptor Technologies is a privately-held company based in Houston, Texas. As of 2020, over 32,000 schools across the nation trust Raptor to help protect their schools. For more information, visit www.raptortech.com.
About Safe Kids Inc.®
Based in Southern California, Safe Kids Inc.® was founded in 2016 by a team of experienced law enforcement officers and educators. Recognizing that active shooter and violent intruder events were becoming more and more commonplace nationwide, the Safe Kids team resolved to produce a comprehensive, age-appropriate training curriculum that could teach students to recognize, avoid, and survive violent intruder events. The result of this collaborative effort is the H.E.R.O. Program®, which has been used by over 100,000 students across the country to help feel safe and be safe.
For more information, visit www.safekidsinc.com.
Media Contact:
Ida Yenney, KCPR
(818) 419-0516
idayenney@gmail.com