City, DCPS publicizes partnership with company specializing in safety doorways, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The town of Jacksonville and Duval County school district on Wednesday introduced a brand new plan to maintain kids safe within the classroom.

The college district hired a New York company named Armoured One, which specializes in doors and glass and claims it might probably slow down or stop a shooter from getting into a classroom.

These are essential components after police in Texas decided the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary College in Uvalde was closed but not locked. Initially, state police mentioned a teacher left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the instructor really closed the door, but it didn’t lock routinely prefer it was speculated to. The gunman shot and killed 19 college students and two teachers earlier than he was killed by regulation enforcement.

Armoured One, which was based after the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty capturing, is made up of former army and law enforcement brokers who research mass capturing assaults and seek the advice of on school security measures.

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“We'll first work collaboratively to identify where Armoured One sources can finest praise the coaching already provided, including their assets to the coaching tools and resources the district already uses,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry mentioned Wednesday afternoon at a news convention at City Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button instantly below to look at the whole news convention.

The security glass and movie that Armoured One invented can face up to a number of hits -- whether or not that’s bullets, somebody ramming into the glass or using other objects or weapons -- without breaking, which may sluggish an attacker. The doorways it makes use of have metal framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can also be known for offering energetic shooter training and assessments. The company issues particular person reviews for every building and recommends the very best tools to make use of for every facility it’s working with.

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Curry said he plans to seek out the funding for that training but additionally work with the corporate to perform college safety assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz mentioned his team knows what to look for when it assesses a faculty’s vulnerability.

“They’re looking at ways to decelerate an attacker and pace up police response,” Czyz said. “How will we slow him down -- after which pace up the response that would stop him.”

Duval County Public Colleges Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County College Police Division Chief Greg Burton say safety and security are top of mind day by day.

What I need to be frequent is that our families know that we are prepared each and every day. And that’s what we work in direction of being a greater faculty district as it pertains to safety and safety,” Inexperienced mentioned.

Burton mentioned, “I'd say the one phrase that summarizes every little thing that we do is vigilance.”

Greene mentioned that the district’s greatest defense is its college students and workers. She mentioned she continues to encourage the varsity neighborhood to report something they see that’s suspicious.

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So far as the price, it’s unclear proper now, as the partnership is still being worked out.

Duval County voters approved a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the precise purpose of changing growing older schools, repairing a large backlog of upkeep points, and bolstering faculty safety.

Proper now, 74 tasks are in the design phase and 15 are under development.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated greater than $118 million dollars, with greater than $5.7 million already spent or allotted to tasks under construction.

Over its 15-year life, the sales tax is projected to generate $64.9 million for the particular purpose of upgrading faculty security in DCPS faculties.

Extra details about how that money is planned to be spent in individual faculties might be discovered on the varsity district’s half-cent gross sales tax data dashboard.

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The following listing of security measures is revealed on the college district’s web site:

Every faculty has a safety plan and emergency response workforce.

All school lecture rooms are locked when occupied by college students.

School plans are reviewed with employees every semester.

The district has a highly educated school police department, giving all faculties direct entry to highschool useful resource officers.

The district utilizes various major safety monitoring strategies together with digital camera surveillance and monitored controlled access techniques.

All colleges and district places of work have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct entry to high school police and district management. Faculty Police have direct access to JSO.

All colleges conduct regular evacuation drills (hearth drills).

All faculties conduct regular emergency and lockdown (“code red” and “code yellow”) drills.

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