Case Study: Montgomery County, Maryland enables rapid protective alerts for private schools with Everbridge

Montgomery County, Maryland - Customer Case Study

Montgomery County, Maryland (population ~1 million) relied on Everbridge for traffic, weather and public-safety alerts, but a series of shootings in May 2016 exposed a gap: there was no procedure to notify the county’s private schools (about 127 institutions) during critical incidents. That left private schools without timely, coordinated protective notifications.

The county OEMHS obtained a statewide list of private schools, ran preparedness workshops, and built a Private School Alert System in Everbridge, enrolling 116 schools and instituting quarterly tests to keep contact data current. The system has been used twice to send emergency police alerts that prompted immediate shelter-in-place/lockdown actions; schools reacted quickly and appreciated the rapid notifications, and the program is being expanded and maintained.

Montgomery County, Maryland

Charles Crisostomo

Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security