How K-12 Schools Can Use Their Mass Notification System to Prepare for an Active Shooter Situation

By Kara Stamets, Content Marketing Specialist at Alertus Technologies

Three hundred acts of gun violence (mass shootings, gang shootings, suicides, shootings at school events, and other occurrences) were reported on K-12 public, private, and charter school grounds in 2022. Active shooter situations generally last an average of 5 to 7 minutes, so every second counts when it comes to mitigating harm.

Preparation is crucial, and incorporating active shooter training into your emergency notification approach can help save lives. Read on for tips and solutions that can help schools provide critical alerts in these unnerving situations.

Preparing for an active shooter situation includes planning, sharing information with first responders, and conducting up-to-date exercises. According to FEMA’s Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs), it is important for school officials to:

Plan for threats and hazards by setting goals and courses of action in your EOP. Officials should consider how to evacuate or lock down students, staff, and visitors if an active shooter enters the building. Should primary evacuation routes be blocked or unusable, plan for alternative routes. Select practical shelter-in-place locations, and determine how to communicate with your community over mass notification systems during the event and after the shooter is no longer a threat. Remember to select communication methods that meet ADA compliance standards to serve the needs of individuals with disabilities.  

Share your school’s EOP with first responders so they are aware of your site assessment information and can respond rapidly and safely if needed. Include building schematics, door and window locations, door locks, and access controls in the materials you provide to them. Other critical information includes the location of shelter-in-place areas, security cameras, alarm controls, two-way communication, and PA systems. Sharing this information with law enforcement ahead of time will assist them in better responding to an emergency at your school. Hold this information in front office areas so it is readily available to provide once they are on-site.

Conduct active shooter drills appropriate for your institution (whether at an elementary, middle, or high school) with first responders and school safety officers. Lead walk-throughs of the facility to point out evacuation and shelter sites to make students, staff, and first responders aware of these locations. FEMA’s Guide recommends that individuals:

  • Learn the signs of threatening situations and methods to prevent emergencies 

  • Learn the best steps for survival in active shooter situations

  • Are ready to cooperate with law enforcement during their response

If your school relies on only a few modes of communication like traditional PA systems and email, adding layers of communication like text, desktop notifications, and digital signage is critical in making your communication more effective.


Key alerting devices in the event of an active shooter include: 

Panic Buttons

With the hardwired panic buttons, activate pre-set alerts from the Alertus System. Quickly request help and activate alerts with the personal WiFi panic button.

These wall-mounted, hardwired devices are customizable and color-coordinated for preset emergency scenarios. If faced with an active shooter, lift the protective shield and press the panic button to instantly activate your pre-configured alert across each endpoint in your alert system. 

No matter your location on school grounds, teachers and staff can subtly activate alerts and request help by pressing our WiFi Panic Button. This device instantly shares location and user information with responders so they can arrive at the exact location of the emergency faster.

Rapid Response Console 

The Alertus Rapid Response Console is a wall-mounted tablet that runs an application that can be used to quickly activate and check your Alertus System's status, or to seamlessly activate third party personal alerting systems.

Remaining calm and calling for help in these unpredictable situations is key to bringing law enforcement to your school sooner. Our Rapid Response Console (RRC) activates the Alertus System quickly and allows multiple authorized users to call for help. The RRC communicates with the alerting server and is always ready to activate any notification.


Mobile Apps

The Alertus Mobile Recipient App allows end users to receive push notifications from the Alertus System. It also offers a panic button feature so users can quickly and easily send incident reports to emergency managers.

Teachers and staff may be first to encounter intruders and can utilize the Alertus Recipient App, which allows users to not only receive push notifications with emergency messages but allows users to send geo-tagged incident reports to emergency personnel. Users can report an incident with their current location, attach a picture, and a customized message, or use preset incident buttons.



Digital Signage  

The Alertus LED Marquee displays Alert Beacon text for higher visibility and impact in large areas or high noise areas.

Traditional PA systems are great at broadcasting audible messages, but noisy cafeterias or loud events can make it hard to hear alerts. An LED Marquee is a device that can publish visual emergency messages in broad high-foot traffic areas to help get your emergency message across.

Installing a multilayered mass notification system in your educational institution is critical to ensuring that you can swiftly call for help and rapidly alert your community in case of a threat or active shooting on school grounds. 

Check out our latest video on Protecting Your Campus From Active Shooters with Patrick Dennin, Vice President, Sales National Accounts & Key Verticals at Alertus Technologies, to learn more.

Kara Stamets