MEADE COUNTY, Ky. — The Meade County School District debuted the Crisis Alert badges by CENTEGIX to their schools two weeks ago, a measure to improve school safety. 

What You Need To Know

  • Meade County School District is the first district in Kentucky to invest in Crisis Alert badges to improve school safety

  • A few clicks of a button on the badge sends alerts for help in a scenario of a medical event, injury or campus-wide emergency

  • Meade County School District has set dates aside in March and April for other school districts to see how they can implement this safety feature in their schools

Business teacher Michele Miller has already put her badge to use. Miller says in her 18 years of teaching she has never felt so empowered.     

“There was a student issue. We were able to stay right there with the student, with the situation and did not have to leave and immediately, within seconds, three administrators were on the spot and aware of what was going on and took it over from that point,” said Miller.

With just three clicks of a button on a staff member badge, school administrators get notified and respond with help. Eight clicks puts a campus-wide emergency lockdown, while also alerting law enforcement and providing audio and visual alerts.

“A lot of times in those situations, if you have a serious having a medical issue and you’re staying with them or try that. But as the teacher, I also have the classroom that I have to be responsible for and to assess that situation as well. So, yes, it’s so beneficial to any school, but I’m thankful to have it at county schools,” said Miller.

Superintendent Mark Martin says Meade County School District is the first in Kentucky to adopt this safety feature for the entire district.

“This is an innovative step. This is one that we will prioritize in 2024 and it’s going to help us elevate the culture of safety for years to come,” said Martin.

Custodians, food service, teachers and administrators can now get help within seconds. Martin says this is just another added layer to keep their students and staff safe, covering both inside and outside buildings, including the school parking lots and athletic fields.

“In that worst-case scenario that we hope never happens, but none of our school community wants, it is nice to know that we can more quickly get our students locked doors and get help on the way,” said Martin.

Miller says this new safety feature has given her and other staff peace of mind.

“I think just to know that we have it’s available to us and that it, like I said, it can cut something that would take minutes down to seconds,” said Miller.

Both Miller and Martin believe Meade County School District will be a trendsetter for the Commonwealth. Meade County School District has set dates aside in March and April for other school districts to see how they can implement this safety feature in their schools.

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