All 19 of Delaware’s public school districts and charter schools will benefit from a nearly $1 million investment effort from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) to improve school mapping, threat assessment and reporting applications.
These efforts are meant to strengthen school security, notably through the creation of high-resolution campus maps to help law enforcement and first responders move more swiftly in otherwise unfamiliar environments during crises. Administered through the Comprehensive School Safety Program, these funds will largely go to the New Jersey-based Critical Response Group to collect and digitize school building blueprints for first responders.
“These digital blueprints and maps represent a significant, tangible investment in school safety and security throughout Delaware. The goal is to ensure all emergency personnel have the best tools to communicate and collaborate in a crisis – when seconds count and lives are on the line,” Nathaniel McQueen, Jr., Delaware Safety and Homeland Security secretary, said.
Maps will include gridded overlays of school buildings and grounds, with full floor plans consisting of room labels, hallway names, external door numbers and key utility locations, among others. Neighboring properties will also be noted. Changes to the grounds will be routinely updated and the maps made shareable to and accessible by school officials, as well as local, county and state emergency personnel and law enforcement. To guarantee these maps are accurate, cooperating agencies will also conduct periodic walk-throughs of campus facilities.
These mapping efforts are also part of a larger $10 million allocation by the Delaware General Assembly for the School Safety and Security Fund.