Lockdowns? Bomb threats? We gotcha covered

"In order to facilitate quick and effective communication among parents and school staff when dealing with rumors or emergencies, hundreds of schools across the state of Oklahoma have implemented the SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact system," Earth Times reports today.

The system performs extremely well in emergency situations, like lockdowns, when every second is critical. ... "These deployments are part of a growing trend in school security and crisis management among Oklahoma schools," said Paul Langhorst, vice president of operations at GroupCast, SchoolReach's parent company. ... Enid Public Schools (EPS), for example, implemented the system in February 2007 after having to deal with several bomb threats that turned out to be pranks.