Every morning, teachers, administrators and over 1,000 students at Unity Braxton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, walk through a weapon-detecting security scanner, as part of a new, countywide security initiative this school year.
To get prepared, Principal Mary Jane Boynton said, students had the chance to walk through the system before the school started using it, getting familiar with the noises it makes and how the process would work. They learned about the types of things that might set the device off, and heard about best practices, so there wouldn鈥檛 be a delay in getting students to class on time.
Now, the weapons-detecting software has been in place for about two weeks, and staff and students said the technology assures them they鈥檒l be safe in the school鈥檚 buildings. Even if the device beeps, the process takes just seconds, Boynton said, ensuring students aren鈥檛 missing class time.
The process also makes school safer, teacher Eugene Sloane said, because there鈥檚 less downtime in the morning and fewer students roaming around campus. Plus, there’s not a crowd of students trying to rush into the building, largely because school leaders created a designated pathway for students to enter the building.
Prince William County Public Schools, the state鈥檚 second-largest school division, is one of several D.C.-area school systems using weapon detectors to keep students and faculty safe. It鈥檚 part of a nearly $11 million investment over four years that the school board approved.
In Prince William, the tech is in place at 35 middle, high, and K-8 schools, a spokesperson said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not TSA,鈥� said physical education teacher Eduardo Garcia. 鈥淚t looks like it, but it鈥檚 not the same kind of system. It鈥檚 really just a matter of making sure we鈥檙e safe.鈥�
As students walk through the Evolv scanners, which use artificial intelligence to identify weapons or items that present like them, they hand staff members any devices that could set off an alarm.
Those include things such as umbrellas, laptops, binders, deodorant bottles or eyeglass cases, Boynton said. When an item gets flagged, a screen shows staff exactly where it鈥檚 located.
Then, an administrator uses a wand to check the area the system flagged. In total, Sloane said it鈥檚 a seconds-long process, even if a student has to step aside.
鈥淚t’s not an evasive system,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淲e’re not searching kids. It’s really there for safety. And then that way, we can focus on what we’re here for, which is to educate and get an education.鈥�
The process involves about a dozen school staff members, Garcia said, and school leaders meet regularly to learn more about the items that get flagged. So far this year, Unity Braxton has reported a 2% alert rate.
The countywide results have been promising too, the spokesperson said, but a pocket knife was identified and confiscated at Garfield High School earlier this month.
Shaniya, who鈥檚 an eighth grader at the school, said early student concerns that the process would slow them down entering the building have been eased. It鈥檚 more beneficial than putting belongings in lockers, which students did last year, she said, adding the scanners are 鈥渁 good step for making sure safety is taken seriously.鈥�
Community and teacher feedback have also been positive, Boynton said.
鈥�(Teachers) feel that this system, they don’t have to worry about what’s in somebody’s backpack,鈥� Sloane said. 鈥淭hey don’t have to worry about what’s in somebody’s locker. They know they’ve gone through the system and whatever they have on them cannot hurt them or any other student in the building.鈥�
Alexandria City Public Schools has also used weapon detectors this school year. There, school officials said they鈥檝e identified items like a knife, taser and razor blade. In April, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said the county was considering a weapons screening system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 simple, it鈥檚 easy, and it鈥檚 keeping your kids safe,鈥� Sloane said.
