MDI LearnSafe Team Lands Project with Texas School District

Aug. 24, 2007
Mercedes ISD to participate in technology and assessment program

SAN ANTONIO--MDI, Inc., the leading provider of Unified Technology solutions for the security industry, today announced that Mercedes Independent School District, located in Mercedes, TX, has agreed to become part of the LearnSafe School Safety and Security Initiative and implement the necessary people, processes and technology to achieve LearnSafe Certification Status. The program, when implemented and instructed, will designate the district as a LearnSafe Certified School System.

The LearnSafe Team is scheduled to begin work during the month of September on safety and security assessments and site surveys for the school district which will provide cost estimates of hardware, software, systems, materials, labor, maintenance and comprehensive training required for the district to implement the LearnSafe Initiative throughout its facilities.

The assessment will empower Mercedes ISD to meet compliance requirements under Texas Senate Bill (SB) 11, which calls for school districts in the state to conduct security audits, at least once every three years, across all district facilities and report results to the board of trustees and the state. The deadline for completion of the first round of district audits is August 31, 2008. The program will also assist districts in complying with Senate Bill 9, which is known as the “fingerprinting bill.” LearnSafe Certified schools will receive continuous compliance assistance with any additional state or federal school safety and security mandates that may arise in the future.

A Professional Funding Specialist provided by MDI will work with district administrators to complete the LearnSafe funding package. LearnSafe’s unique approach to funding delivers customized packages to schools based on the most appropriate short and long term options available. In most cases, LearnSafe is able to fund from 75% to 100% of the program without the need to issue vehicles that will increase taxpayer burden.

“The forward-thinking leadership team at Mercedes ISD have taken the first step towards providing their district with a turn-key comprehensive safety and security program, that is managed by an experienced team of security professionals,” stated Jack Walser, Executive Director of The LearnSafe Initiative. “By using the LearnSafe Internal Funding Model District leaders can accomplish this system-wide program without the need to seek additional outside funding sources or increase local taxpayer burden. We applaud the district for taking part in this initiative to provide safety and security for their students, teachers, administrators and parents,” he added.

LearnSafe begins with a district wide risk assessment and site survey, which allows the program’s security professionals to identify internal and external threats and vulnerabilities to each campus, while formulating cost effective risk mitigation strategies that span across every layer of security and all security disciplines. The assessment serves as the baseline for all safety and security implementations within the district and will function as a decision-making tool to be utilized by the LearnSafe professional services team and school district leaders to provide the right levels of security to each individual school within the district.

In addition to MDI’s unified video surveillance, access control, automated lockdown and alarm management solution, the LearnSafe Team is comprised of:

• Nortel Communications - providing systems integration, 911 emergency notification and acknowledgement systems, network security and insider risk management solutions that deter cyberbullying and sexual predator Internet contact. Nortel currently provides products and services to thousands of school district customers across the nation, many of which are exclusive customer accounts.

• ASSA ABLOY – providing door security solutions and hardware components including badging hardware and access control readers and cards to thousands of schools nationwide. The company’s school based solutions include a revolutionary new finish coating designed for high-touch locks and door hardware called MicroShield that permanently suppresses the growth of bacteria, algae, fungus, mold and mildew. It is ideal for school system environments and lasts for the life of the hardware.

• The SBS Group – delivering a proactive behavioral intervention program in a “trainer of trainers” model that empowers school personnel to identify threats well in advance of a situation, intervene based on proven research and create an environment where students do not have to resort to violence to express their emotions. This unique LearnSafe component delivers the industry’s only standardized response to intervention solution, designed to decrease student anxiety, instead of waiting for students to fail.

• MDI Professional Services Group – providing dedicated program management, professional consulting, security training and centralized security monitoring solutions to LearnSafe customers.

MDI Security Systems is an official contract holder in The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN). The TCPN contract is available for use by thousands of public and private schools, colleges, universities, cities, counties and other government agencies in the States of Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma to purchase products and services without having to undergo the time and direct costs associated with establishing a competitive bidding process.

For more information on becoming a LearnSafe Certified School District, or purchasing MDI solutions via the TCPN contract, visit the LearnSafe website at www.learnsafe.org.