App coming to Lincoln to help teachers to respond in emergencies

April 13, 2017 5:55 pm

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

Lincoln Police Captain Phil Gould is switching roles with these elementary school teachers. He’s teaching them what to do if an intruder bursts into the school.

He helped design the new cellphone app called ‘I’m Safe for Schools’, which allows teachers and administration to send for help in less time in the event of an emergency.

"It’s almost like installing a panic button in every teacher’s hands so they can call for help in a very timely manner."

That call goes right to Lincoln Police. The app also has features that let first responders…know exactly where to go when they arrive. And schools in Lincoln are the first in New England to test it out. "We used to be very traditional – lock the doors turn off the lights hide in the corner – but now we’re also giving the communication tool to our teachers."

And for the teachers, like Dianne Mohler, it’s a welcome tool.

"In today’s world it’s getting more and more difficult to protect the kids…it can be a very scary world and our #1 priority is to keep the kids safe. They’re like our own kids."

With tragedies like Sandy Hook and last week’s elementary school shooting in San Bernardino, safety continues to be forefront in the minds of school staff.

"When something like that happens you think ‘oh my god what can I do to protect our kids?’"

The town of Lincoln is no stranger to such events. A couple years ago, there was believed to be an intruder at one of the schools, and this app would have come in handy.

"We went into our lockdown protocol…it turned out that it was nothing but it took a little while to get that out to the teachers."

Police are still training teachers and staff at the rest of the schools in Lincoln, so the system has not gone live yet. But they’re hoping that come the new school year this fall, everyone will be on board.