MACON, Ga. — Macon's First Presbyterian Day School has implemented a new school safety tool to hopefully keep their school community safe, and all it takes is three clicks.
The school has partnered with the Centegix Security System to ensure a safe and secure learning environment for its students and staff.
Head of First Presbyterian Day School John Patterson mentioned that they've introduced a new safety precaution in hopes of improving school safety.
It is a badge all employees wear around their neck with a button they can push if they are dealing with a student-related emergency.
"We just simply want every kid to feel safe in their seat," Patterson said. "It just became more heightened when the incident in Nashville happened. I think that was a turning point for a lot of schools and asking ourselves what else can we do?"
They've also implemented other school safety measures like a new door barricade system for every classroom, office and common spaces, where teachers and staff members need a key fob to access the hallways.
The goal is for all of these tools to work together to keep students safe. But Patterson says keeping the school safe requires the whole community to be involved.
"If we layer our safety on top of each other, eventually that threat is going to be found," Patterson said. "It's bigger than just the Centegix Program, it's about identifying threats. It's about what our parents do as parents at home, it's how we treat each other."
Eight clicks of the Centegix badge and the school goes under full lockdown. They even hired a new campus security officer to patrol the campus and ensure the safety of the school.
"Throughout the day, I just walk around and check to make sure nothing looks out of place or out of ordinary," Brad James, campus safety and school resource officer, said. "I make sure the kids are safe, the teachers are safe, making sure everything's functioning properly as far as a security standpoint goes."
But overall, First Presbyterian Day School wants to make sure they're committing to the safety of students and staff.
"It's just not a badge, it's just not a resource officer," Patterson said. "It starts with this idea about prevention and taking care of one another."
More than 140 alarms are activated by Centegix throughout First Presbyterian Day School's campus. Centegix says its security system is in three of the nation's largest school districts and in 60% of Georgia public schools.