Hanover High School

SARA Addresses Student Smoking Challenges

Description

Located in Hanover, Virginia, Hanover High School is one of central Virginia’s most technologically advanced high schools.

Opportunity

Like many middle and high schools across the country, Hanover High School experiences challenges in dealing with student smoking in the bathrooms. Student smoking poses many problems for school officials, such as safety, inefficient use of staff in frequently checking bathrooms and productivity issues for students. Hanover’s smoking problem has never been a serious one, but school officials decided to be proactive in their planning, as they wanted to alleviate any potential problems.

When presented with an opportunity in the spring of 2005 to participate in a pilot project with Status Solutions, Dr. Carol Cash, Principal, moved quickly to get her school involved.

Solution

Status Solutions has been providing the SARA system to school districts for the past several years. SARA, the Situational Awareness and Response Assistant, is an on-site software solution that monitors events within the school and then alerts the appropriate personnel. Monitored events can be initiated from devices, such as mobile panic buttons used by teachers and staff, cigarette buster sensors, door and window sensors, temperature sensors for food preservation equipment, moisture sensors, asset tracking sensors to prevent theft and many other events typical of schools.

Recognizing the budget constraints inherent with many school systems, Status Solutions developed a solution that enables bathroom smoking to be monitored over the school’s internet connection, for a low monthly fee. Smoking events that are detected are immediately transmitted to the Status Solutions’ network operations center (NOC). The alert is then called into the school by SARA’s automated voice messaging feature. When the school office answers the phone, SARA announces the location of the smoking. SARA can simultaneously call staff cellular telephones and send email alerts. This monitored service eliminates the school having to purchase on-site equipment and provides school officials with a more flexible and efficient solution.

Status Solutions installed the sensors in two of the student bathrooms. When the front desk phone rang the alert, students were caught in the act of smoking. The pilot project was so successful throughout the end of the school year and summer school that Hanover decided to install the sensors in all student bathrooms for the new school year. Hanover is now monitoring bathroom smoking using an economical solution. Hanover’s planning and the installed solution are resulting in a minimum of smoking activity.

The infrared signature of a flame, caused by a lighter or match, triggers the smoking sensors. This alert is how the signal is sent so quickly while the smoking event is still taking place.

Partnership

Hanover High School, like most schools, does not want in-building smoking to create problems for its students, staff or general environment. Status Solutions, working with the Hanover staff, has offered a means for helping to create a smoke-free environment.