Video intercoms from Aiphone play a major role in the Radnor Township School District’s efforts to increase security at its schools.

As part of its overall security improvements, Radnor Township School District in Pennsylvania is using video intercoms from Aiphone Corp. at the main entrance of four of its schools — three elementary and one middle school.

As of May 6 (when the systems went live), all visitors to the three elementary schools and one middle school within the district are required to use the intercoms to enter each building during school hours. At the district’s high school, the entrance is protected by a security guard and a shatter-resistant window.

In order to enter, visitors press the button on the Aiphone intercoms once to activate the system, face the intercom and provide their name and the purpose of their visit to the responding staff member, who can see them on a monitor inside the office.

The intercoms were installed based on a district-wide security review following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December. The school board provided directives and sought input from the community and the Radnor Township Police Department about ways to upgrade the district’s safety measures.

Additional security upgrades included doorbells installed on modular classrooms and electronic school building access devices that have been assigned to police on duty during school hours.

Staff members from various departments throughout the district have also met on several occasions to review crisis procedure resources and coordination. Most recently the district hosted a crisis readiness program for local school officials with Cheri Lovre, director of the Crisis Management Institute, who assisted in crisis management following the Columbine school shootings, September 11, 2001, and other incidents.