Rave Mobile Safety is the provider of the application, which will allow school staff who opt in for the app to alert 911 or other staff members of emergency events.
According to Jason Millsaps, executive director of the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the app will be available to all public, private and charter schools within Montgomery County.
The total cost of the app for all school districts is approximately $165,000, according to Millsaps, and it is covered by the Montgomery County Emergency Communication District through 2024. However, participating school districts will have to transition to take over the cost independently by 2025.
The app will not be available to students, but teachers and other faculty will be able to notify each other and first responders in a multitude of situations including chemical spills, medical emergencies and active shooter threats, Millsaps said. It will also provide better location services with maps of the district to allow for quicker response to the appropriate area.
“This allows not only for us to know exactly where inside that building the threat is, but also to be able to communicate with that person, and [it] also alerts everyone in the building on the program that there is something going on in that area,” said Millsaps.
Willis ISD has been running the program independently, and the majority of staff members have utilized the service, he said.
The app will also have permissions settings which allow first responders to access the camera and mic on the phone, he said. When activated, emergency services will be able to hear what is going on if the person who activated the call is unable to speak.
