When the new school year begins, Newtown Public Schools will be equipped with a new visitor management system, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, announced this week in a letter to parents and staff.

School district Director of Security Mark Pompano explained on Wednesday, August 12, the Raptor Visitor Management System — which he said was jointly donated to the district by Raptor and the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) — will scan a visitor’s identification card, such as a driver’s license.

The system will read the visitor’s name, date of birth, and photo from the identification card, according to Mr Pompano, adding that the system will also check all visitors with a registered sexual offender database from all 50 states.

Identification will be required for each visit to the school, and, while the first scan will be quick, Mr Pompano said, following visits will be quicker.

Primarily, Mr Pompano said, the new system will help monitor where people are in a school building. In an emergency situation, Mr Pompano said the security personnel would be able to quickly assess information about where visitors are located.

As Dr Erardi explained in his August 10 letter, “Raptor is a web-based software application that has been developed with the purpose of aiding educational facilities in tracking their visitors, students, and faculty. Raptor not only provides an effective, efficient method of tracking, but also goes beyond conventional applications by utilizing available public databases to help control campus security,” the letter read. “Raptor is capable of replacing most paper-based logs. It will allow schools and facilities to produce visitor badges, monitor volunteer hours, and electronically check all visitors against registered sexual offender databases. The overall goal is to better control access to all Newtown Public Schools; thus providing enhanced protection for our students and staff.”

According to the letter, the Raptor technology only scans a person’s name, date of birth, and photograph from the provided identification card.

“Additional information from the visitor’s ID card is not gathered, nor is the system connected to any other system, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. Therefore, any other information connected to the ID card is not part of the system and is not accessible to any of the users,” the letter read.

Dr Erardi said on Tuesday, August 11, the initiative to install the new system was vetted by the districtwide security committee. Dr Erardi also said he is pleased that training will be completed and the new system will be in place for the start of the new school year.

Training is still ongoing, according to Mr Pompano, with some details of the process yet to be worked out, but training will be completed before students report to school on August 27.

Mr Pompano also said the system has been used in Columbine, Colo. According to Dr Erardi’s e-mail, the Raptor technology is also being used in New Britain, New Fairfield, and New Milford.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor of Protection Management and the CEO of the Center for Private Security and Safety Anthony Gentile, who is a member of the district’s security committee, said he has worked with the Raptor technology in the past in New Jersey and New York.

“It should be seamless. It should be quick,” said Mr Pompano about how the system will roll out in town.

 Mr Gentile also said implementing the system was “seamless” in other districts, but added that it is important for people to understand the new system requires identification to enter the school buildings.

“It’s a measure of access control to validate the necessity of an individual — be it a parent, visitor, or guest — coming to the school that day,” said Mr Gentile.

In general, Mr Gentile said, the system stops people from believing they can have free access to a school building.

“It takes time,” Mr Gentile said about getting used to a new system, “and hopefully there is understanding.”

Dr Erardi said he is pleased with the new system, explaining later the security committee unanimously chose Raptor for its efficiency and in-depth services.

“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,” wrote Dr Erardi in his letter. “District administration will continually refine this new procedure throughout the upcoming school year, and we will make adjustments as needed. Your patience is appreciated while we do all that we can to make our schools welcoming places for our community, while maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students.”