Category: School Safety

Motorola Solutions' manufacturer recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting your two way radios

Cleaning & Disinfecting Your Two-Way Radios

Posted on | by SchoolSAFE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our customers have been working tirelessly to adhere to the CDC guidelines to provide a safe and healthy environment at schools. Mitigating virus transmissions has been the focal point of many school district’s COVID-19 Hazard Assessment Plans. From what we have learned, masks, social distancing, frequent disinfecting, and hand sanitizing measures have all been implemented throughout many school districts in Colorado. Don’t forget about cleaning your two-way radios!


SchoolSAFE’s solution is training and radio-based. As more and more schools open their doors to in-person learning, we have had requests for radio disinfecting “best practices.” For levity, we have even had a customer ask if they could dunk their entire radio in bleach. Yes, this would certainly be effective in eliminating any viruses on the radio. But this could render the radio completely useless as the electronics could corrode between the metal and the circuit board. This can lead to radio transmission issues. Please do not dunk your radio in any form of liquid. Additionally, some disinfecting chemicals can compromise the materials of the radio. 

So, the radio manufacturers with which we have partnered have provided guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting two-way radios. Below is a resource for your schools and district to improve radio hygiene by safely cleaning and disinfecting the radio. And, you can also find a print out for your schools here. 

Please contact us with any questions, we are always here to help.

School Safety Grants

Posted on | by SchoolSAFE

Here at SchoolSAFE, we pride ourselves in our ability to empower community partnerships. Throughout our trainings, we watch school safety teams and public safety personnel work together to improve their communications during an emergency. An added bonus during these trainings occurs when ideas are shared between the professional first responders and those in charge at the school because improvements are made. Many times, within the discussions for improvement include the necessity of funding to accomplish what was talked about.  With the current climate in school safety, there are many opportunities to apply for funding. Improvements to schools in their communications efforts, controlled access, interoperability, and safety personnel are all included in the multiple grants currently open for application. Here in Colorado, for example, the SAFER Grant is available to provide hardware, software, and training for interoperable communications. Throughout the country, we have seen a number of other open grants. Some are listed below. Never hesitate to apply, it is worth the effort to aim to get funding to improve your school(s) and district safety measures.

Colorado

–SAFER grant

-School security disbursement grant

Georgia

-Capitalized equipment grant

Florida

-Physical security of buildings

Michigan

-School safety improvements

New Hampshire

-School hardening

SchoolSAFE Best Practices and Community Partnerships

Posted on | by SchoolSAFE

At SchoolSAFE, we get many questions about school safety, best practices, and how to make communities more savvy in how they prepare for emergencies. We recently received several great inquiries about school safety practices from SchoolSAFE users, including: how do school districts handle preventative maintenance for emergencies? And, are first responders and school districts required to participate in trainings together to become SchoolSAFE Certified Ready?

Every school district is unique in their planning and execution of safety practices. One of our best examples of preparation and proactivity is in Pueblo, Colorado. The school district started by discussing various all-hazards scenarios at each school and referred to the district’s crisis plans to effectively respond. By doing so, administrators, teachers, and local public safety agencies were able to discover, mold, and develop best practices for teamwork day-to-day and during emergencies. They later learned that their ultimate tool for effective teamwork is the two-way radio in the schools. It enables each school to connect directly with professional responders and district personnel, putting everyone on a reliable, common channel to expedite the response.

First responders came to the table and provided their input on how the school could improve their response. They focused on the initial trigger to the incident – (lock down, lock out, evacuate or shelter), how and when the schools call 9-1-1, and how to evaluate a situation and share information “in real time.” Through the SchoolSAFE Certified Ready Schools Program by Motorola Solutions, relationships between school personnel and first responders flourished. The program required teamwork and training for all entities involved, FCC licensed radios, the SchoolSAFE physical network that bridges the channels together, tactical interoperable communications exercises, and continuing education throughout the partnership.

We have seen that decision-makers in both the school district and public safety grasp the importance of working together to create the most effective and timely response.

Do your students and community a favor, and share this information with your school or district. We need to work together to help fund and implement the technologies and procedures that enable teamwork among school and district-based responders as well as professional public safety responders. We are here to help your community discuss, plan, and implement your next steps. We appreciate educators and first responders for all that they do and for reaching out to us on this very important subject. -SSC

Contact us to learn more about how you can bring SchoolSAFE to your district.