City, DCPS broadcasts partnership with company specializing in security doorways, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Town of Jacksonville and Duval County faculty district on Wednesday introduced a brand new plan to keep kids protected within the classroom.

The school district employed a New York company named Armoured One, which makes a speciality of doorways and glass and claims it could decelerate or stop a shooter from getting right into a classroom.

These are crucial factors after police in Texas determined the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary College in Uvalde was closed however not locked. Initially, state police stated a teacher left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the instructor really closed the door, but it surely didn’t lock mechanically prefer it was presupposed to. The gunman shot and killed 19 college students and two teachers before he was killed by law enforcement.

Armoured One, which was founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty shooting, is made up of former navy and law enforcement brokers who study mass shooting assaults and consult on school safety measures.

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“We'll first work collaboratively to determine where Armoured One assets can best praise the training already provided, including their resources to the coaching instruments and resources the district already makes use of,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry stated Wednesday afternoon at a information conference at Metropolis Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button instantly beneath to watch the entire news convention.

The safety glass and movie 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 might sluggish an attacker. The doors it uses have metal framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can also be identified for providing energetic shooter training and assessments. The corporate points individual reviews for every constructing and recommends one of the best equipment to make use of for each facility it’s working with.

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Curry mentioned he plans to seek out the funding for that training but also work with the corporate to carry out college security assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz stated his group knows what to look for when it assesses a faculty’s vulnerability.

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

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

What I want to be widespread is that our households know that we are ready every day. And that’s what we work towards being a better faculty district because it relates to safety and safety,” Inexperienced said.

Burton mentioned, “I'd say the one phrase that summarizes all the pieces that we do is vigilance.”

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

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As far as the cost, it’s unclear proper now, because the partnership remains to be being worked out.

Duval County voters permitted a half-cent gross sales tax in November 2020 with the particular goal of changing ageing faculties, repairing an enormous backlog of upkeep issues, and bolstering faculty security.

Proper now, 74 initiatives are within the design phase and 15 are below development.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated greater than $118 million dollars, with greater than $5.7 million already spent or allocated to initiatives underneath building.

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

Extra information about how that money is deliberate to be spent in individual faculties could be found on the varsity district’s half-cent gross sales tax information dashboard.

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The next record of security measures is revealed on the college district’s web site:

Each school has a safety plan and emergency response workforce.

All college school rooms are locked when occupied by students.

School plans are reviewed with employees each semester.

The district has a extremely educated school police division, giving all schools direct entry to high school useful resource officers.

The district utilizes varied main security monitoring methods together with digicam surveillance and monitored managed entry methods.

All faculties and district places of work have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct entry to highschool police and district leadership. Faculty Police have direct access to JSO.

All schools conduct regular evacuation drills (hearth drills).

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

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