“Today, your child’s school will have an active shooter drill.” This seemingly simple sentence has become a source of contentious debate across the United States in recent years. Despite the rarity of mass shootings occurring at school, approximately two-thirds of parents of teenagers express worry about a school shooting, according to Pew Research.

Chief of Police and founder of Armour College, Richard McCann has been responsible for leading the college’s response to the widespread COVID-19 pandemic, immediately putting policies and medical screenings into place, acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE), and distributing Center of Disease (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other relevant medical information to staff and students on all campuses to ensure appropriate safety and health protocols at the college.

Gary Johnson is much more than Director of Security for the Pojoaque Valley School District in New Mexico. He’s in charge of safety and security, transportation and more, but his most important role is supporter, with this role becoming even more prominent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now more than ever, K-12 leaders are faced with the need to implement security solutions and strategies that adequately protect students, staff and visitors from potential threats. Growing incidents, such as school shootings, unauthorized visitors and disease transmission, can put occupants in harm’s way, making security a persistent need. Schools now have the opportunity to use and expand on existing building technologies to address evolving needs while providing greater protection and peace of mind.