Verkada has partnered with Safe and Sound Schools, a national non-profit organization dedicated to protecting school communities through crisis prevention, response, and recovery.

Founded by parents who lost children at Sandy Hook, Safe and Sound Schools provides research-based tools and support for crisis prevention, response, and recovery. Schools face unique challenges when it comes to safety and security. From emergency readiness to daily monitoring, creating a safe environment demands both proactive planning and reliable technology.

The first initiative as partners included a joint-fundraising campaign to enhance school safety, generating $42,000 for Safe and Sound Schools programs. Verkada’s technology reportedly protects more than 17 million students today with its fully integrated hardware and software solution. Verkada’s six integrated product lines allow schools to:

• Lockdown doors in seconds while still allowing first responders access.
• Detect vaping and bullying using sensor technology to identify vape smoke and elevated noise levels in bathrooms and locker rooms.
• Monitor school premises in a privacy-sensitive way by blurring the faces detected in live streams of camera footage (faces can be unblurred at a moment's notice if an incident occurs).
• Respond quickly to threats with custom alerts and tools — including wireless panic buttons.
• Detect unusual activity, verify the threat, and initiate an immediate response.
• Prevent unauthorized visitors using security screens with cloud-based visitor management that integrates with cameras and access control.
• Share live camera feeds of incidents with law enforcement for real-time action when necessary.

“Comprehensive school safety takes all of us — and we’re deeply grateful to everyone in the Safe and Sound community for their unwavering commitment to this work and to our mission,” said Michele Gay, founder and executive director, Safe and Sound Schools. "Together, we’re creating safer, more supportive learning environments every day, including through the thoughtful use of technology to implement a layered approach to the safety challenges our schools face.”

Alana O'Grady, vice president of public affairs, Verkada, said, “Safe and Sound Schools is a powerful voice for school safety, and we’re honored to work alongside them to further our commitment to school safety. By aligning our efforts with their evidence-based programs and comprehensive best practices, we aim to help schools prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises more effectively — ultimately, supporting educators and students where it matters most.”