Students at recess often play some version of Red Light, Green Light — a game where one person gets to determine whether the rest of the players can move forward. But letting people onto school property is much more complicated than a playground game.
It’s important to know who is on campus and why to make sure students aren’t at risk. That’s why having a comprehensive visitor management system — not just a clipboard and sign-in sheet — is key to keeping students safe.
“There’s often a misconception, especially in small schools, that you know everyone in the building, and you don’t need tech to manage visitors,” said Mike McCarty, founder and CEO of SafeHiring® Solutions and MinistryDefender Solutions, which provide comprehensive, prevention-based technology and services to help schools and ministries keep their people safe. McCarty, a former law enforcement agent, has dedicated more than 20 years to developing solutions that help schools and ministries conduct thorough background checks, reference checks, and more to keep students and teachers safe.
“Even in a small school, you don’t always know the dynamics of parents or guardians with their children — or if something has changed with custody agreements,” McCarty continued. “It’s important to know who the approved adults are so that kids are reunited with the right person.”
Some schools maintain a buzz-in policy, where visitors must request entry through an intercom system, state their name and reason for visiting, and then sign in with the office staff to get a visitor pass. This process is intended to protect against violent intruders — but it is less effective in preventing more nuanced issues, such as non-custodial parents or abusers who want to gain entry.
“A buzzer system doesn’t allow you to see any verification before letting people in,” said McCarty. “Even looking at someone’s driver’s license doesn’t really tell you who someone is — so you miss out on the finer screening protocols that can make a big difference to the safety of the kids in your school.”
A visitor management software allows schools to create excluded party lists, add notes to certain files, and flag people who attempt to gain entry when they shouldn’t. Additionally, software can integrate with other features, such as a background check provider or emergency alert system.
“We’ve seen a lot of schools integrate their visitor management systems with their buzz-in process,” said McCarty. “They have vestibules in their entryway that create a buffer. All guests interact with the visitor management software in that vestibule, so they provide their information and get approved before they’re buzzed into the building.”
Visitor management software also offers the advantage of accurate electronic records. Sign-in sheets and clipboards can easily be misplaced, but a cloud-based system offers the convenience of keeping information organized in one place — complete with electronic logs and time stamps.
“Electronic logs aren’t just helpful in man-made events when someone enters a building and causes a disruption; those records are also important when there’s a weather event like a tornado,” explained McCarty. “It allows you to know who has checked into your facility and where they might be.”
People with bad intentions often look for the path of least resistance. When they see barriers in place to keep them from reaching students, they are more likely to be deterred. A visitor management system should be something people can’t work around or cheat in order to gain entry.
To show how creating resistance can significantly impact safety outcomes, McCarty often tells school and ministry leaders he works with about a kidnapping that happened in a church a few years ago. The couple that took the child had visited two other churches before finally carrying out their plan. They were able to lie about their identities, pick up a child, and leave the building without being questioned.
“People who want to harm kids aren’t going to be honest and upfront with you, so it can be difficult to spot those who have bad intentions,” said McCarty. “They have no problem lying about who they are. They’ll intentionally misspell their names on sign-in sheets, so even if you would check their name against a system, they won’t show up. That’s why a cloud-based system that scans people’s IDs is very important.”
Your top priority is keeping your students safe — but making the decisions that help protect them can be confusing. How do you know what you should be looking for in a visitor management system? What makes a system best able to serve your school? McCarty recommends four key components for any visitor management system.
Cloud-Based System
Software that connects to the internet is best in terms of deployment and operability. A cloud-based system can accomplish complex tasks and store a significant amount of data. Additionally, its ability to pull external information offers optimal protection against unapproved visitors.
“You want your system to be able to scan a visitor’s government-issued ID to confirm their identity and screen for potential issues,” said McCarty. “Some systems will take an optical scan of a driver’s license, but it’s better to have a system that scans the 2D barcode on the back of a license. Fake IDs are easy to make, so just looking at it and pulling information off of it doesn’t really verify anything. A good visitor management system will connect to the internet and any other databases you’ve integrated to flag potential intruders.”
Flexible
Because schools have so many events, activities, and vendors, it’s important to have a visitor management system with the flexibility to handle all levels of guests and volunteers. For example, someone who signs up to volunteer for a field day event may need different clearance than a father who comes to eat lunch with his daughter. A food vendor who enters the building to deliver cafeteria supplies could need yet another level of clearance.
“Your system should allow you to segment different types of visitors to make sure they’re appropriately screened and approved,” said McCarty. “You should also have the flexibility to allow visitors to complete a pre-registration process so they can enter more quickly. For events like VIP days or Pancakes with Parents, you can have a lot of people visiting — so giving people the chance to be pre-approved and just pick up their tags upon arrival is a great solution.”
Configurable
A good visitor management system will be able to grow with your school’s needs. McCarty encourages school leaders to look for software that has certain capabilities — even if they don’t immediately intend to take advantage of those options.
“You may not be able to implement all features at one time, but you do need configurability to grow your safety network over time,” explained McCarty. “I recommend looking for software that can integrate with an emergency alert system, background check providers, and student information systems.”
Ministry-Centric
The final component to look for in a visitor management system is how well it works with Christian schools. When you talk to a vendor, ask what other ministries similar to your size they’ve worked with. Make sure they have a proven record of success.
“If I’m the decision maker for a Christian school, I want to work with an organization that knows that space — that understand schools and churches and their cultures,” said McCarty. “Some visitor management systems are built for corporate use, and I’ve seen a lot of schools try to retrofit those systems to fit their needs. It doesn’t work well because churches and schools are so different from a corporation.”
With more than 25 years of experience in violence prevention and security — including time as a detective on the police force — McCarty used his knowledge to develop the SafeVisitor® system, which is a comprehensive visitor, volunteer, and vendor management system used by schools across the country. SafeVisitor was designed with schools and ministries in mind, making it easy to adopt and scale.
“With SafeVisitor, we’ve tried to balance two things in particular: simple responsibilities for the front office while also keeping away people who shouldn’t be allowed in the building,” said McCarty. “We don’t want the system to be so burdensome that no one wants to operate it, but we also want to provide functionality for group management, event support, and pre-planning and pre-registration. The goal is to get people through as quickly as possible without sacrificing any safety.”
Through SafeVisitor, schools can integrate their student information systems, such as PowerSchool or Infinite Campus, so updates only have to be made in a single spot. Schools can also take advantage of other MinistryDefender offerings that integrate seamlessly with SafeVisitor, such as their background check tool or Arrest Alert, which offers continuous monitoring and updates school administrators if a previously approved volunteer gets arrested.
MinistryDefender Solutions also provides front-office training for the SafeVisitor system, often through Zoom and training videos that staff can watch on their own time. “We work with small schools that have just one or two administrators in the SafeVisitor system and larger schools with multiple campuses — the software can scale easily to meet their needs regardless of the school size, and training is the same for everyone.”
Learn more about how MinistryDefender Solutions and the SafeVisitor software can serve your school.
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