Guilford County Schools is bringing security scanners to all middle schools in the district, after implementing this technology at all traditional high schools last year.
The district uses the Evolv Express screeners, which use sensors and artificial intelligence to detect weapons. They’re touchless, which means students, staff, and guests just have to walk through them as they enter the building.
At a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent for School Safety and Emergency Management Mike Richey said the scanners would be up and running at middle schools on the first day of the new school year.
“Last year, four firearms were recovered in Guilford County Schools. The previous year, there were eight. So it's a small sample size. So I can't say statistically, that it's significant," Richey said. "But I will tell you that of the four firearms found on campus, two were found by the use of the scanner, and were found at the scanner.”
The other two, he said, were found by alert staff members and belonged to students who either hadn’t gone through the scanner yet, or used an entrance where there wasn’t one. But no guns ever made it into a classroom last year.
"So that is a difference from the previous year, where we had several guns found in actual classrooms, and was the impetus for moving forward with the Evolv in the first place," Richey said. "So I would say that's a positive report."
Still, Richey says the district’s most important security tool is relationship building between staff and students.
"Relationships drive teenagers. Good relationships, bad relationships, feeling left out, feeling included, all of that is something we as adults have to watch for, need to look for," he said. "And that's what concerns me the most is that we have children that are being ignored, and we're not seeing the clues, and they're coming forward, and that is what worries me.”
People can report anonymous tips and safety concerns through an app called CrisisGo, which is installed on all district computers for staff and 4th through 12th-grade students.
Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.