Visitors to our Schools
The Newtown Public Schools utilizes the Raptor Visitor Management System in each of our seven schools. The Raptor System is a web-based software application developed for the purpose of assisting educational facilities with managing visitors. Raptor not only provides an effective and efficient method of accounting for visitors, but also goes beyond conventional applications by utilizing available public databases to assist campus security. It replaces paperbased logs. The Raptor System allows our schools and facilities to produce visitor badges, monitor volunteer hours, and electronically check all visitors against registered sexual offender databases. Our overall goal is to better control access to all Newtown Public Schools, which in turn provides enhanced protection for our students and staff.
Upon being granted entry inside any of our school buildings, visitors will be directed to the security welcome desk and required to present a valid photograph government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or state identification card. The ID card will be passed through the Raptor scanner. In just a few seconds, a visitor badge will be printed with the visitor’s name, photograph, date, time, and destination within the school. It is important to note that the Raptor System only scans the visitor’s name, date of birth, and photograph for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. Additional information from the visitor’s ID card is not gathered, nor does the system connect with any other database such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. Therefore, any other information connected to the ID card is not accessible to any of the users.
The security and safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. Your cooperation is appreciated as we strive to make our schools welcoming places for the community, while maintaining a safe and secure environment for everyone inside the building.
If you have any questions regarding the Raptor Visitor Management System, please contact Newtown Public Schools Director of Security Mark Pompano at (203) 270-6121 or via email at pompanom@newtown.k12.ct.us.
