MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Knightscope, Inc., a leading developer of autonomous security robots and blue light emergency communication systems, today launched its School Safety Grant Program – a project that empowers everyone to promote safer learning environments in K-12 schools.
Violence, harassment, threats against students, teachers and school staff all negatively impact the ability for children to obtain a quality education in a safe environment. While creating a supportive school culture is the first line of defense, security technologies provide an extra layer of deterrence and protection from those intent on doing harm.
According to market-research company, Omdia, schools and colleges in the United States spent $2.7 billion on security products and services in 2017 compared to an estimated $3.1 billion in 2021, but available funding in many cases does not cover all the costs associated with implementing new technologies to keep educational institutions safe. This leaves schools exposed and unprotected, leaving state leaders across the U.S. calling for boosting schools’ physical security measures to protect them against intruders.
“Everyone in our nation wants to do everything possible to keep students, faculty and their families safe,” said William Santana Li, chairman and CEO, Knightscope, Inc. “A lack of funding and constrained budgets should not be the limiting factor to protecting our schools, and we aim to provide an avenue to overcome that deficit with this innovative approach.”
SCHOOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM
The Grant Program is intended to aggregate funds from the general public wishing to collectively make non-deductible donations to partially subsidize schools in need that are experiencing budget shortfalls preventing the implementation of Knightscope’s security technologies to better protect children, faculty, and administrators.
Knightscope’s services improve the effectiveness of schools at detecting and stopping intruders as referenced in their recently published blog on securing schools, colleges and universities. School safety needs to be a priority for everyone in the community, but financial resources to pay for multi-million-dollar safety and security initiatives are in short supply and encouraging administrators to act on behalf of those in need is not enough.
“It is time we band together as a country and fight back against the ongoing violence in our schools. Knightscope is taking the lead in driving a nationwide fundraiser – taking a cue from students that often hold local fundraisers for uniforms, sports gear and school supplies. This is not an ordinary thing to do but we’d rather work the problem and do something about it than continue to watch the inaction in horror,” Li continued.
HOW IT WORKS
Go to www.knightscope.com/fightback. Enter the amount you would like to donate and click "submit payment." Fill out the resulting short form and use your credit card to make the payment. The Company will consolidate the funds and 100% of your monies will go to helping prospective schools who cannot afford Knightscope technologies by using your funds to fill the gaps.
Schools wishing to be considered should complete an initial assessment with Knightscope directly, receive a proposal, and identify the budget shortfall by booking time with our seasoned experts at www.knightscope.com/discover.
