First Minutes Matter: Safer Schools with Owl

Community safety

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The active k-12 shooters phenomenon continues to kill children, teachers, both traumatizing a generation and impeding our children’s learning and development. Current strategies have not worked. Over 99% of the deaths in k-12 shootings happen in the first few minutes before law enforcement arrive. Most security tech does not address these critical first few minutes of a shooting. Cats2.org's Owl ECO, developed by top security experts, does.
In the 2022, Uvalde Robb Elementary shooting, a teacher died and could have been saved through Owl ECO. Had people who knew she was bleeding out communicated, she would be alive today.
Since 1966, active k-12 school shooters have injured and killed over 9,794 American children and teachers. Worse yet: Of 120,000 k-12 schools in our country, only 40,000 have security technology – most are expensive, most made for security professionals. Free lay friendly expert technology, Owl ECO, exists to help every single k-12 school in LA County save lives.

The Owl ECO L.A. project will protect an estimated 100,000+ L.A. County students and staff provide a scalable model for districtwide expansion. The per-school cost of $500 ensures cost-effective impact, ensuring easy scalability.
This initial investment lays the groundwork, and provides a sustainable, affordable safety solution—dropping to $200 per school when scaled to 10,000+ schools. Specifically, CATS2.org will use the $75,000 as follows.
$50K Specialist: Dedicated L.A. County implementation manager driving school adoption, building relationships, and ensuring smooth onboarding across districts
$22K Training: Intensive workshops creating internal safety champions, integrating emergency protocols, and providing hands-on technical setup support
$8K Outreach: Targeted marketing, conference participation, and celebration events generating momentum for widespread adoption
Every participating school gains life-saving emergency capabilities. Trained staff respond faster. Students stay safer. L.A. County becomes the national model for comprehensive school safety.
This catalyst investment overcomes technology adoption barriers while establishing sustainable funding pathways. Beyond initial deployment, it creates lasting safety infrastructure protecting thousands of students for years to come. This $75,000 transforms emergency response for 100+ schools, safeguarding an entire generation of L.A. County students.

After this 1 year grant, 100 L.A. County schools will have Owl ECO with instant communication and effective coordination that actually works when a school shooter attacks. The school leaders will have better emergency response, everyone will know their role immediately, and should an active shooter event happen in one of these 100 schools, lives will be saved.
Picture this: A teacher in East L.A. can focus on inspiring kids instead of worrying about outdated lockdown procedures. When emergencies happen, police arrive already knowing the school layout and situation.
By 2030, every L.A. County schools will have free effective technology to help save lives in crisis.
But this isn't just about effective technology. When children feel safe, they learn better. When teachers aren't afraid, they teach with passion. With Owl ECO, L.A. schools can lead the way so schools are what they should be: sanctuaries of learning where every child can flourish.