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

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

The college district employed a New York company named Armoured One, which makes a speciality of doors and glass and claims it may slow down or stop a shooter from getting 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. Originally, state police said a instructor left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the instructor truly closed the door, however it didn’t lock mechanically like it was purported to. The gunman shot and killed 19 students and two lecturers earlier than he was killed by legislation enforcement.

Armoured One, which was founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary College capturing, is made up of former military and legislation enforcement brokers who study mass capturing assaults and seek the advice of on school safety measures.

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“We are going to first work collaboratively to determine where Armoured One assets can finest compliment the training already provided, including their sources to the training instruments and sources the district already uses,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry stated Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at City Hall to announce the partnership.

Press the play button instantly below to watch the entire news conference.

The security glass and film that Armoured One invented can withstand several hits -- whether that’s bullets, someone ramming into the glass or utilizing different objects or weapons -- without breaking, which could slow an attacker. The doorways it uses have metal framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can be known for providing lively shooter coaching and assessments. The company points particular person reviews for every building and recommends the best gear to make use of for every facility it’s working with.

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

“They’re taking a look at methods to decelerate an attacker and speed up police response,” Czyz said. “How do we slow him down -- after which pace up the response that will cease him.”

Duval County Public Faculties Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County Faculty Police Department Chief Greg Burton say security and safety are high of mind each day.

What I want to be common is that our households know that we are ready every day. And that’s what we work in direction of being a greater school district as it relates to security and safety,” Green mentioned.

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

Greene stated that the district’s best protection is its students and staff. She mentioned she continues to encourage the college group 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 permitted a half-cent sales tax in November 2020 with the specific function of changing aging faculties, repairing a massive backlog of maintenance issues, and bolstering school security.

Right now, 74 initiatives are in the design section and 15 are below building.

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

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

Extra information about how that cash is deliberate to be spent in individual schools could be discovered on the school district’s half-cent gross sales tax data dashboard.

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The following checklist of safety measures is revealed on the varsity district’s web site:

Each college has a safety plan and emergency response group.

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

College plans are reviewed with workers each semester.

The district has a extremely trained college police division, giving all colleges direct access to high school resource officers.

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

All faculties and district places of work have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct entry to school police and district management. College Police have direct entry to JSO.

All colleges conduct common evacuation drills (fire drills).

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

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