Districtwide access control and surveillance upgrades regional school unit 35 (applicant) serves 2123 students throughout eliot and south berwick, me and consists of five educational facilities

With strong leadership, the efforts of faculty and staff, and support from state and local government, the school system is an integral part of the community. The mission of RSU 35 is to provide a place where students, parents, staff and community members work together to foster a life-long passion for learning and engage all students in developing the skills and knowledge they need to be successful; live healthy lives; and become ethical, kind, compassionate, responsible citizens who thrive in an ever-changing world. In the event of a crisis, natural disaster, or inclement weather situation, our school system has one goal -- to keep our students and staff safe. In order to ensure the continued safety and security of our students, faculty and staff, we are partnering with south berwick and eliot police departments to pursue federal funding through the svpp grant. After procuring funding, we will use evidence-based school safety intervention that supports community-oriented policing strategies to increase capacity to improve school safety while maintaining a positive climate. Purpose and primary activities: when determining which area of security we wanted to improve, we followed the guidelines set forth by the partner alliance for safer schools (pass) as recommended by the federal school safety clearinghouse. In following these guidelines we have identified training, access control and surveillance as the primary priorities for improvement. The solution, comprised of S2 and milestone equipment and software, will deploy surveillance in some schools that currently have no coverage and provide upgrades in others, including gun detection analytics and vape sensors. The funding will allow for improved visibility, increased awareness and peace of mind. Additionally, funds will also go towards securing multiple doors across the district with upgraded access control equipment, including the addition of new card readers and lockdown buttons. This will ensure the physical safety of our campuses by controlling and maintaining situational awareness of all doors. Lastly, remaining funds will be used to employ a security consultant who will provide a full risk assessment and help US to create and implement training programs for district faculty based on best practices as determined by the partner alliance for safer schools.