Norwalk Public Schools is pleased to announce that we will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System across all NPS schools within the 2017-2018 school year. Raptor is a web-based software application that provides an effective and efficient manner in which to track visitors in and out of the schools, helping to increase protection for our staff and our students.

The system allows schools to electronically check all visitors against registered sexual offender databases, produce visitor badges, and monitor visitor hours. Previously, those visiting schools were asked to sign in via a paper-based log at the front office, and were then provided with a badge. With the Raptor system in place, visitors will now present a valid government issued Identification such as a driver’s license, or state ID, to be scanned electronically. Each time a visitor, contractor, or volunteer signs in, or a guardian signs out a student, their name and date of birth are compared against over 750,000 known sex offenders across all 50 states and several territories within the United States. Once the ID is scanned, a badge will be printed within seconds including name, photograph, date, time and destination/purpose of the visit. Additional information from the ID is not gathered, nor is the system connected to any other database. Therefore, any other information connected to the ID card is not part of the system and not accessible to any of the users.

The safety of our students and staff is of the highest importance to NPS. Your patience is valued while we continue to refine our procedures and do all that we can to make our schools welcoming for our community, while maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students.

If you have any questions regarding the new system, please contact District School Preparedness Coordinator Joe Rios at riosjo@norwalkps.org.

To learn more about the system, please visit www.raptorware.com. The Raptor system is currently being used in a variety of Connecticut public schools including Newtown, New Britain, New Milford, and New Fairfield.