School securityASIS International awards Florida school Selects money for security
Orlando, Florida, Palmetto Elementary School is located in one of the city’s highest crime areas; the school has won a $20,000 from ASIS International for security enhancements; the money will be used for the addition of both indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras to act as both a deterrent for potential wrongdoers and to enable the school’s security team to identify those who have committed crimes on the school’s large campus
Palmetto Elementary School, in the Orange County Public School (OCPS) District, Florida, has been selected as the winner of ASIS International’s School Security Funding Competition. ASIS International (ASIS) will award the school $20,000 for security improvements.
Palmetto Elementary School is located in one of Orlando’s highest crime areas. It serves 1,150 students and is one of 120 elementary schools in the OCPS District — the tenth largest school district in the United States.
Proposed improvements include the addition of both indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras to act as both a deterrent for potential wrongdoers and to enable the school’s security team to identify those who have committed crimes on the school’s large campus.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we were selected by ASIS as the top choice in their school funding competition,” stated Palmetto Elementary Principal Katie Boyd. “The generous award of $20,000 will help us purchase security cameras that will make Palmetto Elementary a safer place for everyone for years to come.”
Schools within the OCPS District were asked to consider — through a series of short essays — their particular security concerns and how those concerns might impact their students, teachers, and administrators. They were asked to describe security risks they would attempt to reduce or eliminate, and list specific security enhancements they would purchase with the funding. A committee comprising security management professionals from the ASIS Greater Orlando Chapter judged the submissions.
“This is the eighth year that ASIS has sponsored this competition, as a way of giving back to the community where our Annual Seminar and Exhibits is held,” says ASIS International Chief Executive Officer Michael Stack. “The aim of the competition is to encourage local schools to assess the security issues that confront their buildings, staff and students every day.”
A reminder: the ASIS International 57th Annual Seminar and Exhibits (ASIS 2011) will be held 19-22 September at the Orange County Convention Center. There will be more than 700 exhibitors featuring everything from access control to X-ray scanners, and more than 200 educational sessions.
