Students at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin were just finishing up their classes around 11 a.m. when a 15-year-old shooter opened fire in a classroom on Dec. 16.
After the shooting, Madison Police Department reported at least three people dead, including the shooter, and six people were injured. The school did not have any metal detectors or school resource officers. This incident is just one of the 83 school shootings that took place in the United States in 2024, CNN reports. Since the pandemic in 2020, school shootings have spiked back up with 80 shootings in 2022 and 82 shootings in 2023.
With the number of school shootings and security concerns on the rise again, schools across the nation are increasing investment in campus security.
The Campus Safety Team at Sage Hill School is on watch around the clock to address emergencies and help keep the campus safe. The security team employs both security officers and technology, along with a comprehensive system of prevention and response to potential dangers, Safety and Security Manager Adam Patterson said.
“When a community feels safe, it often is,” Patterson said. “Communities that feel safe stem from inclusive and cohesive environments, where we care and respect one another.”
Among the security-focused technology in place at Sage Hill is the emergency communications application, Titan HST. Push notifications and text messages sent through Titan play a crucial role by allowing community members to report emergencies so the safety team can pinpoint their location and respond faster.
“It allows the community to communicate an immediate need to Sage Hill. This two-way messaging is important for both prevention and response capabilities,” Patterson said.
The security team also carries handheld radios capable of connecting directly with first responders in emergencies. Radios allow the security team to stay in touch during daily operations and also communicate directly with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s county-wide communications center in a regional state of emergency.
“If there was ever a natural disaster and cell phones are not working, and then the Internet’s out, and the power’s down, even if everything stops working, we still have the ability to communicate effectively, and that’s a pretty huge capability,” Patterson said.
In addition to the technology, the different skill sets that each member of the team is able to bring and their ability to use these skills together through collaboration and teamwork is a major factor in their success.
All members of the safety team are trained in life-saving skills such as basic life support, emergency oxygen administration, CPR and how to stop life-threatening bleeding. Some team members bring unique skills and experience gained from working in law enforcement or the U.S. military. Even with their current knowledge, members of the security team are constantly learning by being involved in professional networks that keep them up to speed and trained on new evolving topics
Other key roles include assisting with traffic control during peak drop-off and pick-up times, patrolling the campus, staffing the booth at Sage Hill’s main gate, school emergency preparedness, supporting the school nurse in taking care of medical emergencies and facilitating evacuations. These duties of the security team make students feel welcome and secure.
“When I drive up to school, and I see the security guards waving at me, I feel very safe,” Junior Arman Hamidi said.
The most essential school safety tool is still the relationships built on campus every day, Patteron said.
“People who have a strong sense of community, and respect for one another, have a stronger sense of safety, and that’s one of the more important safety measures at Sage Hill,” he said.
