Sonitrol Provides School Security Solution for World's Largest Junior Achievement Campus

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 07/14/09

Junior Achievement (JA) World's Huizenga Center at Broward College in Coconut Creek, FL has signed with Sonitrol for a sophisticated access control and school security system. The company designed a system that will provide controlled access, remote monitoring capabilities, motion-activated cameras, and verified audio intrusion detection, to diminish false alarms and speed response time.

Scheduled to open this summer, the new center will provide business, economic, and consumer educational programs for 50,000 elementary and middle school students each year, posing unusual access control and security challenges.

"Our number one goal is ensuring the safety of students," said Melissa Aiello, president of Junior Achievement South Florida. "We involved Sonitrol early in the planning stage, and the company's experience and knowledge helped us identify key access and security issues at our facility." For example, the building is divided into zones with different criteria for access, with additional protection for sensitive areas. JA staff can easily adjust those requirements on-site or remotely as needs change.

Aiello noted that the remote management and monitoring capability of the Sonitrol system are advantages of the school's security installation. "Being able to access the system 24/7 securely from anywhere via the Internet allows our team to handle issues more effectively and efficiently," she said. In addition, Sonitrol's audio intrusion detection system allows unusual noises and voices to be heard remotely and analyzed for immediate verification of incidents--to reduce false alarms and speed response time from law enforcement.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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