City, DCPS pronounces partnership with company specializing in safety doors, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Town of Jacksonville and Duval County school district on Wednesday announced a new plan to keep kids secure in the classroom.

The college district hired a New York company named Armoured One, which focuses on doorways and glass and claims it could slow down or prevent a shooter from getting right into a classroom.

Those are essential elements after police in Texas determined the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was closed however not locked. Originally, state police said a instructor left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the trainer actually closed the door, but it didn’t lock mechanically prefer it was imagined to. The gunman shot and killed 19 students and two academics before he was killed by law enforcement.

Armoured One, which was based after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, is made up of former army and legislation enforcement brokers who study mass capturing attacks and consult on school safety measures.

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“We are going to first work collaboratively to establish the place Armoured One resources can best compliment the training already provided, adding their assets to the coaching tools and assets the district already uses,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said Wednesday afternoon at a news convention at Metropolis Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button directly below to look at your complete information conference.

The safety glass and film that Armoured One invented can withstand several hits -- whether or not that’s bullets, someone ramming into the glass or utilizing other objects or weapons -- without breaking, which may gradual an attacker. The doorways it makes use of have metallic framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can also be identified for offering active shooter training and assessments. The company issues individual studies for every building and recommends the very best tools to use for each facility it’s working with.

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

“They’re methods to decelerate an attacker and velocity up police response,” Czyz said. “How do we slow him down -- after which speed up the response that will stop him.”

Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County College Police Department Chief Greg Burton say safety and security are top of mind each day.

What I need to be frequent is that our families know that we're ready each day. And that’s what we work towards being a better faculty district because it relates to security and safety,” Green mentioned.

Burton stated, “I'd say the one word that summarizes everything that we do is vigilance.”

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

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

Duval County voters accredited a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the precise objective of changing growing old colleges, repairing a massive backlog of upkeep points, and bolstering school security.

Right now, 74 projects are in the design phase and 15 are beneath development.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated more than $118 million dollars, with more than $5.7 million already spent or allocated to projects underneath construction.

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

More details about how that cash is deliberate to be spent in individual schools can be discovered on the college district’s half-cent gross sales tax information dashboard.

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The following list of safety measures is printed on the college district’s web site:

Every school has a safety plan and emergency response team.

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

School plans are reviewed with employees every semester.

The district has a highly educated college police division, giving all colleges direct access to school useful resource officers.

The district makes use of various major security monitoring strategies including digital camera surveillance and monitored managed access systems.

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

All schools conduct regular evacuation drills (fireplace drills).

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

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