Protecting students through technology

New Raptor system launches, expands school safety

By Zoe Ligairi

April 9, 2026

Youthcast Media Group®

Imagine a fight breaks out in the cafeteria—students surround the brawl and chaos emerges before security can get to the scene. Now, that can all be prevented by a new technology that will allow staff to click a button on their badge, summoning security faster than before.

The implementation of a new Emergency Management System with the help of Raptor Technologies, a third-party provider of K-12 alerting systems, will be introduced to Annandale High School in the third quarter of the 2025-2026 academic year.

“The safety of our students and staff remains one of our highest priorities. As our world continues to evolve, so too must our layered safety and security efforts,” Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid said in an email sent out to Fairfax County Public Schools staff Jan. 12, 2026.

Raptor: Principal Shawn DeRose explains new Raptor technology to substitute librarian Maggie Patrick, which will help ensure student safety is quickly addressed (courtesy of Zoe Ligairi).

Alongside their regular FCPS badge, staff will be required to wear an additional badge with an Emergency Response Button (ERB) that they can push in case of an emergency or disciplinary situation where they require assistance. With a long-range system connected to beacons placed strategically around the school, the exact location of the alert is triangulated and a notification is sent out via Raptor’s app, so teaching and security staff can quickly coordinate and react. FCPS security departments and emergency responders are also notified.

“There’s no greater responsibility that we have as educators than keeping our students safe, so I want everyone to make sure that when they come walking into Annandale High School, they feel and are safe,” Principal Shawn DeRose said. “Because when they’re safe, that’s when we know that learning can take place.”

Raptor installed the beacons into the ceilings of AHS in December, but to begin using the system, FCPS staff must be trained via a mandatory 15-minute video.

Maggie Gibeau, a behavior support administrator at Annandale High School, has experience with a system similar to Raptor’s when she previously worked at a Florida middle school as the dean of students. She explained how after a 2018 school shooting in the state, Florida drastically increased its security measures, which included the implementation of the ERB system. 

Gibeau explains the benefits of this technology in Florida and how it may similarly help AHS: “Sometimes, when there is a fight, it’s hard to be the person to separate it and get involved and say where you are [on the radio] and ask for backup. So [the ERB] kind of eliminated that,” she said. The button is “like an extra safety measure to be able to get the word out fast [since] it’s not relying on a human to make a call to 911. It’s a quick asset.”

While the system will mostly be used for emergencies, such as an unknown individual entering the building, the app also allows for staff to report less serious situations. The app, which all staff must download to control the badge functions, provides the options of “fight in progress,” “irate parent,” “medical assistance,” “principal to front office,” and “suspicious activity.”

However, DeRose predicts that with the strong support and security systems already in place at AHS such as the security team, student resource officers, the Weapons Detection System, administrators lining the hallways during transition periods, and safety agreements signed by students during W4, the ERBs will most likely only be used in emergency situations.

“All this stuff is really, really important, but there is nothing that is more effective [for staying safe] than just being aware of your surroundings,” DeRose said. “For students, what I would encourage you [to do] is if you see something, say something. That’s the best avenue for dealing with any kind of situation that we have at school.”

Along with this, he attributes the systems and processes in place to having generally decreased the number of hallway fights and other disciplinary incidents within the school. Safety precautions such as not opening doors during the school day to receive DoorDash or mandating check-out before leaving campus during a free period remain important to follow and have helped prevent dangerous situations to date.

“Our greatest strength is definitely our relationship building with students, in the sense that our security team does really well with correcting behavior and keeping our school safe. Continuously having that open line of communication with students and allowing them to feel safe here kind of helps a lot with our school safety and our culture,” Gibeau added.

Freshman Nameera Ahmed shares this sentiment, saying, “I think that [school security is] doing a good job, because they mix safety with understanding students. It just makes me more confident to come to school, because I know that I have someone here I could talk to if there’s anything wrong,” she said.

ERB buttons have not yet been distributed to AHS staff. Superintendent Reid further shared in her email that staff will be notified that the system will activate the night before it becomes operational. Until then, students should rely on their own awareness and AHS’ security systems to stay safe.

Zoe Ligairi is a senior at Annandale High School in Annandale, Va., one of Youthcast Media Group’s high school classroom partners. YMG Intern Sarah Gandluri contributed to this report.