District goes high-tech for student safety
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH –– The Long Branch Board of Education has introduced a new technology to the school system to help ensure the safety of students in the district.

Schools in the district will now be equipped with Watchful i, a reporting system that provides anonymity and has a built-in emergency response program that allows for specific problems to be reported by students, parents and faculty members via the internet or the telephone.

“I wanted something progressive, supporting innovative, cost-effective services,” Superintendent Joseph M. Ferraina said in a press release. “Watchful i had what we were looking for. This program is insightful and is a pioneering a concept.

“We are now in a technology society,” Ferraina said. “This is a new way for reaching out to the students.”

The new system cost $9,800 and was installed in September. Prior to Watchful i, Ferraina said students were able to talk to teachers or drop off questions and concerns in a suggestion box.

“This is just one more piece of software and the most anonymous way of doing something,” Ferraina said. “It is no secret that in today’s world, teachers and administrators face a portfolio of potential dangers to our students. We need to be better equipped to deal with any outbreak or threat.”

The system works in many languages and without operator intervention, according to Ferraina, who said students can access the system simply by visiting the district’s Web page at www.longbranch.k12.nj.us.

Once at the Web site, there are two icons for students to click on, the middle school icon or the high school icon. The student must follow the directions to file a report.

Parents can also access the system by using the telephone and dialing 1-866-766-4319 for the high school and 1-866-766-4339 for the middle school.

The system may also be accessed through the Watchful i Web site at www.thewatchfuli.com.

Immediately following a report, Watchful i sends the report directly to a designated administrator via e-mail or cell phone.

The system makes it mandatory for the administrator who was notified to acknowledge the report, according to Ferraina.

The administrator then must validate the report and determine a course of action. If the administrator does not respond in a timely manner, Watchful i will automatically continue to notify secondary and tertiary administrators until the message is acknowledged, validated and a course of action is determined.

If the report is of a very serious nature, Watchful i’s emergency notification system can telephonically notify every parent, faculty member and school employee of the critical situation, according to a press release.

The system also is capable of notifying law enforcement and the school’s crisis management team of the impending danger, according to the release.

The community notification system can also be used to telephonically notify the entire school population of nonemergency situations, such as snow closings and early dismissals.

“Watchful i is cutting edge technology that provides real-time information which is needed to better formulate solutions and keep children safe,” Ferraina said.