City, DCPS proclaims partnership with firm specializing in safety doors, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The town of Jacksonville and Duval County college district on Wednesday announced a brand new plan to keep youngsters secure in the classroom.

The school district employed a New York firm named Armoured One, which specializes in doors and glass and claims it might probably decelerate or forestall a shooter from getting right into a classroom.

Those are essential components after police in Texas decided the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde was closed but not locked. Initially, state police mentioned a instructor left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the teacher actually closed the door, but it surely didn’t lock routinely prefer it was imagined to. The gunman shot and killed 19 college students and two academics before he was killed by regulation enforcement.

Armoured One, which was founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary School capturing, is made up of former military and law enforcement agents who research mass shooting attacks and seek the advice of on faculty security measures.

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“We will first work collaboratively to identify the place Armoured One sources can best praise the coaching already supplied, including their assets to the training instruments and assets the district already makes use of,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry mentioned Wednesday afternoon at a news convention at Metropolis Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button instantly beneath to look at your complete information convention.

The safety glass and film that Armoured One invented can withstand a number of hits -- whether that’s bullets, somebody ramming into the glass or using other objects or weapons -- without breaking, which could gradual an attacker. The doorways it uses have metal framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can also be known for offering energetic shooter coaching and assessments. The corporate points individual reviews for every building and recommends the most effective tools to use for each facility it’s working with.

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Curry mentioned he plans to seek out the funding for that coaching but additionally work with the company to perform college security assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz stated his staff knows what to search for when it assesses a school’s vulnerability.

“They’re taking a look at ways to decelerate an attacker and pace up police response,” Czyz mentioned. “How do we slow him down -- and then velocity up the response that may cease him.”

Duval County Public Faculties Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County Faculty Police Division Chief Greg Burton say security and safety are top of mind day-after-day.

What I want to be common is that our households know that we're prepared each and every day. And that’s what we work in the direction of being a greater school district as it pertains to safety and safety,” Green stated.

Burton said, “I might say the one phrase that summarizes the whole lot that we do is vigilance.”

Greene stated that the district’s finest protection is its students and workers. She said she continues to encourage the school neighborhood to report something they see that’s suspicious.

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As far as the fee, it’s unclear proper now, because the partnership is still being worked out.

Duval County voters authorized a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the precise purpose of replacing getting older faculties, repairing an enormous backlog of upkeep points, and bolstering college safety.

Right now, 74 projects are in the design section and 15 are underneath building.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated more than $118 million dollars, with more than $5.7 million already spent or allotted to projects below development.

Over its 15-year life, the gross sales tax is projected to generate $64.9 million for the particular function of upgrading school security in DCPS schools.

Extra details about how that cash is deliberate to be spent in particular person colleges could be found on the school district’s half-cent gross sales tax data dashboard.

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The following checklist of security measures is printed on the school district’s website:

Every faculty has a safety plan and emergency response staff.

All college lecture rooms are locked when occupied by students.

Faculty plans are reviewed with employees each semester.

The district has a extremely trained school police department, giving all faculties direct access to highschool resource officers.

The district makes use of various major security monitoring strategies together with digicam surveillance and monitored controlled access programs.

All schools and district offices have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct entry to school police and district leadership. School Police have direct access to JSO.

All schools conduct regular evacuation drills (fire drills).

All colleges conduct regular emergency and lockdown (“code purple” and “code yellow”) drills.

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