Morton East has installed a new security system called Blue Point; you have probably noticed the new alarms labeled “police”, “medical”, or “fire.”

What is the Blue Point you may ask? It’s an alarm and protection system — like an enhanced fire alarm — that the school district has purchased for both the East and West campuses. However, once the Blue Point alarm is pulled, the school immediately goes on a hard lockdown; police and fire departments are contacted and all staff get a message. Blue Point then sends the exact location of which alarm was pulled and activates the cameras around that alarm — so authorities can see. There are about 10 alarms on each floor, and around 60 total alarms in each school. Moreover, the cost of the Blue Point was around $250,000 to $300,000.

“Pulling the Bluepoint can be the meaning of saving many lives,” said assistant principal Phillip Depa.

Furthermore, according to the official BluePointAlert website, Blue Point has protected 325,000 lives and is in 19 states. The Bluepoint system is categorized in three sections. The first section is the activation of the bluepoint by a pull. The second section is the text, emails, and calls that are initiated seconds after the device is activated. Along with contacting the local authority’s. The final section is the responders getting informed.