By: Darlene Cotterill

Is My Child Safe at School?

It’s a question no parent should have to ask, and yet it’s one that looms larger every year. With school emergencies ranging from medical incidents to weather events and the unthinkable threat of an active shooter, communities are searching for real, lasting answers to protect students and staff.

After the tragic loss of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, 10 states have enacted Alyssa’s Law, mandating panic alarm systems that directly alert law enforcement. But with compliance, there are challenges including: how do schools ensure long-term, effective safety without falling into the trap of hidden costs and short-term solutions?

“The principle of Alyssa’s Law is simple, time equals life” said Lori Alhadeff, Alyssa’s mother and founder of the school safety organization Make Our Schools Safe. “We need to get our kids and teachers to safety as quickly as possible, and reduce the response time of first responders.”

The Problem: A Crowded Market

The school safety tech field is now filled with many new players offering flashy panic button systems. Some of these come bundled with recurring subscription fees, cloud storage dependencies, and unproven technology. Districts that rushed into contracts are discovering that compliance may come with strings attached, specifically, high annual fees and operational limitations.

The Telecor Difference: Designed for Real Safety, Not Recurring Revenue

Telecor did not enter the panic button space in reaction to a crisis. As a leader in school public address and intercom systems, we were already there. We saw the opportunity to integrate mobile duress capabilities directly into a daily infrastructure most schools already use. The result: a powerful, alerting system that does not require the cloud, and most importantly, does not come with recurring fees.

The Telecor Difference:

• No Recurring Fees: One-time investment, lifetime protection.

• 3-5 Year Pendant Battery Life: Minimize maintenance and maximize readiness.

• No Receiver Batteries: Eliminate an unnecessary layer of upkeep and risk.

• Data Stored Locally: No dependency on the cloud, which can fail or cause delay.

Built to Fit, Not Force: Flexible Solutions That Layer Safety

From classroom buttons to staff pendants and layered device options that cover the inside and outside perimeter, Telecor’s solutions are modular, scalable, and designed to meet each school’s unique needs. As outlined in our recent article, One Size Doesn’t Fit All, layered safety means you do not have a single point of failure. You get multiple paths for reliable activation, communication, and response.

Ethernet-Based, District-Proven

Our ePanic solution is built on our Ethernet-based eSeries Public Address and Intercom system foundation. The result? Simplified installation and seamless integration with existing PA and emergency communication platforms.

A Mission Rooted in Service and Experience

With over 45 years of experience, Telecor is an established international provider of intercom, paging, clock, mass notification, and security communication systems. With thousands of systems installed across North America and around the world, we’re a long-standing school safety partner that builds with purpose. Our team knows that districts aren’t just looking to check a compliance box—they’re looking to protect lives.

Request A Demo

Contact us for a live demo and see how we’re making schools safer with a solution that will be here today, tomorrow, and five years from now—without new invoices showing up every year.

Darlene Cotterill is the VP of Sales USA for Telecor Inc., a leading North American manufacturer with over 45 years of experience providing innovative daily and emergency communication systems for schools, healthcare, commercial and government facilities worldwide.  With more than 25 years in low-voltage integration and technical solution sales, Darlene works with customers to design layered communication solutions supporting safety strategies and emergency preparedness.