MSCS spent millions on safety center with AI-assisted cameras, active-shooter simulator
It’s likely Memphis-Shelby County Schools has invested millions in developing the center and related security enhancements based on a review of relevant contracts approved by the school board and grant proposals awarded by the State of Tennessee. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
At a shuttered South Memphis elementary school, a wall of 18 televisions broadcasts live video feeds from school campuses. Equipped with their own lineup of screens and an artificial intelligence program, staffers monitor those feeds from their desks stationed in front of the television wall.
After years of planning, renovations and security-equipment purchases, Memphis-Shelby County Schools debuted its “Real Time Safety Center” on Thursday, Dec. 11. A group of 20 people began working at the center about three weeks ago, officials said.
“We know seconds matter,” Carolyn Jackson, the district’s interim safety and security chief, said during Thursday’s ceremony and tour, emphasizing the ways the center can cut down on response times to threats.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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