Grayson County Schools using an app to increase school safety

The school district is the sixth county in Virginia to use the app

GRAYSON COUNTY, Va. – As the saying goes, there’s an app for everything and that includes school safety.

IN FORCE911 allows teachers and staff members at each school to notify law enforcement and other schools about emergencies and visa versa.

“You just bring up the app. Right here is all of the schools that will get the alert. I’m just going to do the high school. Then, I’m just going to hit continue," school resource officer Joseph Poole explained. "Then, in the ‘message’ block, this would be where you actually put whatever information you needed.”

A few seconds after sending the test alert, it popped up in the app.

“(To say) these kids have become important to me is the understatement of the century. One of them here is my flesh and blood. The rest of them, I feel as though they are. So any edge we can get over someone who has ill will towards them is worth millions to me,” said Poole.

Grayson County High School Principal Temple Musser expects the app to be a big help.

“We have a really large campus. For our enrollment size, it’s a large campus and we are spread out. It will be a really nice feature for us," Musser said. "If I know who (the alert) comes from, I’ll know where they’re at pretty much throughout the day. That’s everything. A couple of minutes, from our experience, if we can respond that much quicker and get the sheriff’s office coming this way and get help, we feel like that is going to be of the utmost importance.”

In a statement to 10 News, IN FORCE911 CEO Brandon Flanagan said, in part, “We’re proud to announce this partnership with Grayson County and appreciate their leadership and unwavering dedication to improving school safety!”

The app costs the school district and the Sheriff’s Office $6,000.

Amherst, Bedford, Pulaski, and Montgomery County Schools also use the app.