DAVIE COUNTY, N.C. — If you've stepped in a school around the Triad recently, you likely notice a lot more security measures than when you went to school. Districts have taken safety seriously and are adding more safety items. The latest school to join that group is the Davie County Public Schools.
A quick push of a button, and police, fire, or EMS would be on the way. It's a new app the Davie County Public Schools is training teachers on right now. Couple that with new weapon detection systems, and the school district said it is prioritizing beefing up school safety.
"Safety is our primary concern,” said Superintendent Jeff Wallace, Davie County Schools.
One of those new safety measures is open-gate weapon detectors. The school will spread 18 systems across all elementary, middle, and high schools. They're able to more accurately detect weapons and distinguish them from cell phones or wallets. The district plans to use a grant to pay $350,000 to buy them, all adding to the several layers of security at each school.
“We have well over a hundred cameras on the high school campus, two SROs on campus daily,” Wallace said. “So those features are in place. Doors are automatically locked, we have emergency lockdown capabilities, and then again with the RAVE app, it would be an instant means of communication across the district."
That app gives teachers a way to alert issues or threats immediately and call for help. It has options for police, fire, or EMS. The district hopes these added layers of security both prevent anything from happening and help save lives.
“If it's one of those that you're in the run-fight part of type thing, as you're running you can still hold that button and get out of the situation but still notify somebody that there's a problem, that 'we need help,’” said Clay Harris, Chief Operations Officer. "So if we're in a lockdown situation, you can still hit the button. It doesn't make any noise; it doesn't notify."
WFMY spoke with a handful of parents off-camera. Generally, all said they're glad the district is pushing through new security systems, saying they just hope the technology works to make schools even safer.
RELATED: Davidson County Sheriff's Office said they are investigating threats made to a middle school
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