Milford Schools Unveil New Visitor School Security Plan

In the following letter to parents, Milford Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Feser announced a new change in school security procedures. One of the highpoints of the program is that you need a driver’s license or state ID that school personnel can scan.

According to Feser’s letter, “The scan will check the information against the National Sex Offender database, and in addition, will check the school’s PowerSchool database for information such as court issued orders that parents/guardians have provided to the student’s school.

If no match is found to the Sex Offender data base, or there is no conflict with a court order that is on file, the system will print a visitor pass with a picture identifying the person as an approved visitor.”

Milford school officials called the new visitor management system “School Gate Guardian.”

Officials say It provides them with a system that is consistent throughout the 14 public schools to account for wanted and unwanted visitors. The system allows officials to account for all visitors in the buildings. In the event of an emergency first responders will be able to account for everyone more efficiently and faster.

Read the full letter Feser wrote below.

Dear Milford Public Schools Parents/Guardians,

As we begin the 2015-2016 school year, we want to make you aware of a change in our safety and security procedures. We are implementing a new visitor management system called School Gate Guardian at all of our public school buildings over the next few weeks. This is another measure that we are adding as we continually strive to make our schools as safe and secure as they can possibly be. School Gate Guardian is currently used in over 1,000 school districts nationwide.

This new visitor management system will require you and all visitors to have a driver’s license or State ID that our school personnel can scan. The scan will check the information against the National Sex Offender database, and in addition, will check our PowerSchool database for information such as court issued orders that parents/guardians have provided to the student’s school. If no match is found to the Sex Offender data base, or there is no conflict with a court order that is on file, the system will print a visitor pass with a picture identifying the person as an approved visitor. At the end of a visit, a visitor must return his/her visitor pass to the location where it was issued.

The School Gate Guardian system only scans the visitor’s name, date of birth and photo for comparison purposes. No other personal identifying information is saved unless provided by the visitor. If the system raises a question about a visitor’s background, the school administrator(s) will take the necessary steps to ensure the appropriateness of each individual’s visit. If you believe you are in one of the databases mentioned above, we encourage you to contact your school principal to discuss the situation and make necessary arrangements for your visits.

This new security procedure will take approximately 20 seconds. As a matter of convenience, please be sure to bring your driver’s license or state issued ID with you when you plan to visit our schools during student occupied times. You can take advantage of the school Open Houses to enter your ID into the system so that your information will be stored for future visits. This will expedite the process and ultimately your access to the schools.

This new visitor management system will deliver effective and consistent management of visitors to our buildings and help to ensure the safety of our school community. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you have questions please contact your school’s principal or our School Safety & Security Coordinator, Jeffrey Nielsen, at 203-301-5678. For more information, please visit the district website at www.milforded.org.