Ever since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, people have been trying to find ways to protect schools from would-be murderers.
Four Yale University students have developed an app called “Prepared,” which can be used to help people communicate more effectively during school shootings and other extreme events.
The students — Michael Chime, Dylan Gleicher, Daniel James and Neal Soni — were among the student teams who pitched for Yale’s entrepreneurship prizes at Startup Yale 2019 in early April.
“We all share a passion for this issue,” Chime said. “School shootings are an epidemic in this country, and we want to make a difference.”
The students have siblings and worry about their safety. “I have two younger brothers, and one was scared after a lockdown drill,” Chime added.
The team won the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale’s Miller Prize, a cash award of $25,000 designed to support students who are working on innovative technology. They will also be participating in a startup accelerator program, which includes an additional $15,000 Yale investment.
According to James, the app helps by streamlining communications between on-site personnel and 911 dispatchers with the press of a button. Their technology would get everyone — from students to parents to police — notified within about 15 seconds rather than within minutes.
The app is a one-touch mobile alert system. The students noted that every second can mean lives lost in these situations, so fast, clear communication is key.
“There is an overall communication problem in schools, because public-address systems are behind the times,” James said. “Our goal is to do our part to solve this problem.”
There are different views depending on the user. One is the teacher/faculty view, with a one-touch alert system the instructor can press and hold. While being pressed, it vibrates to prevent accidental clicks and false alarms. The teachers can send more information to school administrators and emergency personnel.
An administration view has a press and hold feature for initiating a lockdown, while alerting the school population and authorities. Students and parents have a different view on the app which receives informational alerts so they can act accordingly.
The app can be modified according to a particular school system’s needs, according to Chime. Some school officials have indicated they would like students to be able to report something suspicious and describe a shooter directly through the app. It can also be used for other emergencies, such as fires.
The Yale students have been presenting the technology to school officials in Connecticut and around the country. So far, they have verbal agreements from schools in states such as Louisiana and Alabama to use the technology in the upcoming school year.
“Right now, we are perfecting and customizing the app. We are in the stage of implementing it, and we have gotten a positive response so far,” Chime said. “Our hope is to help combat this epidemic by enabling everyone in schools to communicate more efficiently.”
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
