ST. LOUIS — St. Louis area school districts are among the 143 statewide that have signed up to use a free mobile emergency alert app thanks to state funding.


What You Need To Know

  • This past spring, the Missouri Department of Public Safety (MDPS) partnered with Raptor Technologies to provide a mobile emergency alert app, Raptor, to all districts and charter schools for free

  • The Raptor app allows school staff to silently trigger alarms and communicate with emergency responders

  • Parkway, Rockwood and Ferguson-Florissant school districts are among area districts participating in the app. Statewide, a total of 830 schools will utilize it, which is 37% of public schools in Missouri

  • A total of $3 million over the course of three years will be dedicated to fund the service

This past spring, the Missouri Department of Public Safety (MDPS) partnered with Raptor Technologies to provide a mobile emergency alert app, Raptor, to all districts and charter schools for free.

The Raptor app allows school staff to silently trigger alarms and communicate with emergency responders, according to Mike O’Connell, communications director for MDPS.

Parkway, Rockwood and Ferguson-Florissant school districts are among area districts participating in the app. Statewide, a total of 830 schools will utilize it, which is 37% of public schools in Missouri.

A total of $3 million over the course of three years will be dedicated to fund the service.

When a school staff member sees or learns about an incident, they can open the app and click on the type of emergency situation, which will automatically alert their local 911 center, according to O’Connell.

Staff can then communicate with 911 by voice or text. Districts can choose who has access to the app, such as administrators and teachers, but some may opt to give support staff access too. O’Connell said the app is not available to students and parents.  

Using geolocation, first responders will know where a situation is taking place. Raptor allows for administrators to upload school building maps.

“This is an opportunity for people to have something very simple. They don’t even have to dial 911,” O’Connell said.

Districts can choose which emergency icons to include on the app, including lockout, lockdown, evacuate, hold, weather-related events, and the app can schedule and conduct drills, in addition to link to the school’s PA system.

The fatal shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School back in October 2022 renewed conversations around school safety. O’Connell said that incident was “applauded as a tremendous response.”

“You have an example of how an immediate response worked and was successful, but you’re not always going to have, in every situation, the people, the responders close by to get there, so (the app) makes it even more important,” he said.

Districts that met the June 30 deadline will have the app setup in time for the new school year.

However, districts that sign up before Sept. 1, can expect a launch of the system in October or November, according to O’Connell.

He said Raptor will work with each district to build an implementation plan that will set them up for success, including connecting them to 911 centers and linking law enforcement directly if desired.

Prior to the state program, six school districts, representing 55 schools, were already using the Raptor app in Missouri, according to O’Connell.

“Some schools in the state already had contracts with other alerting apps. We believe that many have continued those relationships. We don’t know how many. The Center for Education Safety, which is part of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, has told us that it is a significant number,” he said.

O’Connell said he is looking forward to spreading the word about the free app.