Moorestown Friends will begin installing security cameras and using a new, real-time emergency communication software to react during an emergency, according to an email from Head of School Julia de la Torre addressed to students and families Wednesday morning.

“As a school community, we must always maintain vigilance and engage in the ongoing review of our safety and security practices,” de la Torre wrote.

Following a partnership with StoneGate Associates, the security consultants who audited school security facilities and procedures earlier this year, MFS conducted its own research and talked to peer schools.

Among the enhancements announced are security cameras, which will be installed in the coming months “to help us keep eyes on various parts of the campus, including those that are more remote,” wrote de la Torre.

Over the last year, various incidents have occured: money missing from cash boxes, cars being broken into during the school day, bathroom and locker room vandalism, and inappropriate messages written in cards for departing faculty.

Director of Finance and Operations Lisa Carbone Warren said the decision to install cameras later this year was a result of internal conversations, a recommendation from StoneGate Associates, and requests from students in WordsWorth articles.

Junior Lizzie Geyer said having cameras inside classrooms and hallways could be “intrusive,” but having them in entryways and outside grounds would be “perfectly fine.”

“It’s kind of uncomfortable because it’s new, but I think it’s also necessary,” said sophomore Abi Bishoff.

There has been no public announcement about where the cameras will be located.

Additionally, de la Torre wrote that the school will be posting evacuation maps throughout the buildings “so that students can quickly get to safety and emergency personnel can swiftly respond to needs as they arise.”

Upper School Director Meredith Godley told students during Meeting for Worship on Wednesday that they will begin to see faculty and staff “using mobile devices during drills” as part of the new software.

MFS faculty and staff used the app to check-in their students during an Outdoor Evacuation Drill Thursday afternoon.

Company representatives from Ruvna, the company that produces the new software, trained faculty and staff earlier this week on their new, real-time emergency communication system. The software has a few main features.

First, in the event of an emergency, all teachers will get a text message to their personal cell phone alerting them of the situation. The administration is also able to communicate with faculty throughout the emergency.  

Second, the app allows faculty and administration to account for every student, regardless of whether or not they are in the correct class. Any faculty member can check-in any student. Absent and missing students are differentiated in the software automatically.

Upper School assistant Darlyn Medina said the idea is for the software to eliminate the Hartman Hall classes radioing over their emergency attendance to the main building, “but we won’t know for sure until we test it out” in a drill setting.

During the check-in process, “administrators follow along live to see exactly which students are safe, who has not been checked-in yet, and who might need help,” according to the Ruvna website.

Attendance would also be able to be taken more easily in the event of a lock down drill, which was not possible with the old system, said Carbone Warren. The website touts getting “classroom-level data without opening a single door during a shelter-in-place event.”

Lastly, the app creates “detailed report after any event to identify procedure bottlenecks.”

In February, Academic Dean and Associate Head of School Chris Kimberly told the Agenda Committee that the administration “is pricing and planning some new security updates throughout these next months. Once completed, students can comment on [those updates].”

“The work of safety and security is never done, and we are tirelessly working to be proactive and thoughtful in our approach,” concluded de la Torre.