Metal-detection tests to begin at 3 Henrico high schools

Initial field tests of metal-detection and weapons-detection devices will occur at three Henrico high schools and two middle schools, Henrico Schools officials told the county’s school board Thursday.

Officials intend to test traditional metal detectors at the high schools (Godwin, Hermitage and Varina) during an initial phase and less-intrusive weapons-detection scanners at the as-yet-unnamed middle schools during a second phase. Then they’ll determine whether additional phases and test sites (potentially at elementary schools) are necessary or if they have collected enough data to develop conclusions about the effectiveness of the products.

The initial two phases will be completed by spring break, which begins after classes March 31. Officials will report back to the school board in April with their findings.

Each of the three high schools will test metal detectors for five days in total, Superintendent Amy Cashwell told board members, but those five days might not be consecutive. School system officials selected the three high schools because collectively they pull students from each each of the five magisterial districts, Cashwell said, and because they represent a variety of layouts (including Varina, which is an outdoor, campus-style school).

Officials will use stand-up metal detectors and hand-held wands at the high schools and weapons-detection scanners at the middle schools, with the goals of determining the logistical requirements for using each, the cost and staffing requirements necessary to utilize each and the impact upon instructional time, school climate and discipline, Chief of Operations Lenny Pritchard told the board. They’ll also receive input and feedback from students, staff members and other stakeholders at the participating schools to gauge the impact of the devices.

School officials have posted more details about the plan, along with a list of frequently asked questions, online.

Weapons-detection scanners have gained popularity recently because they are less intrusive and don’t require people to remove cell phones, keys or laptops from pockets or bags, since they are designed to identify the difference between those items and weapons, Pritchard said.

“Our goal is to try a few different methods in different types of settings in order to provide robust information to Dr. Cashwell so she can make an informed recommendation to you about division wide next steps,” Pritchard told board members Thursday.

Cashwell was careful to remind board members that the purpose of the field tests is to determine if the implementation of metal- or weapons-detection devices could be an appropriate addition to the school system’s safety plans and that it was not a pilot program (an initial rollout of a new program or service at one or several sites before a comprehensive rollout to all locations).

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Tuckahoe District representative Marcie Shea expressed frustration and disappointment that a trend of increasing violence or the threat of it (combined with a number of incidents in which students brought guns onto school grounds) had necessitated the consideration of detectors.

“We’re all hands on deck, and we need families to communicate real consequences for students bringing weapons, making threats, what they post on social media,” Shea said. “We also need all members of our community, especially those with students and children in their homes, to properly secure their firearms and weapons. If students do not have access to weapons, they cannot bring them to school.”

Varina District board member Alicia Atkins urged officials to consider ways to reduce any negative stigma that could be attached to schools at which the detectors are being tested. She also suggested that consistent discipline was a necessary component of school safety measures.

Three Chopt District board member Micky Ogburn raised concerns about how the new equipment might be staffed, if eventually implemented districtwide.

“I don’t want this to be yet another task for our current staff members and administrators who are already overworked,” she said.

Cashwell told her that staffing is one of the elements officials will need to weigh as they gather information after the field tests.

“In addition to looking at the equipment being used in the field test and all of those logistics, we’re looking at what are the human resource implications here,” Cashwell said. “What are the right number of people needed to do this appropriately, what type of training needs to be on hand?”

During the field tests, the equipment will be staffed by trained security officials, school staff members and administrators, and members of the school system’s safety and security team, Pritchard said.

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In addition to the field tests and possible eventual implementation of such detection devices countywide, school officials are making additional safety enhancements to schools.

They’ve completed the construction of 19 new vestibules (locked lobby areas between the outside doors of a school and the inside that require staff members to provide access electronically to visitors) at schools that previously lacked them, with four more nearing completion and 22 additional sites scheduled to be completed this summer. At that point, all public schools in the county would have such vestibules, Pritchard said.

And, in order to implement a series of recommendations made last fall by a Blue Ribbon Safety Panel, the school system is spending $5 million to fund:

• the addition of card-readers on exterior doors at semi-campus style schools, so that only cardholders can swipe to enter quickly;

• the addition of card swipes for fire-responders;

• additional walkie-talkies for staff members to use for communication;

• unified signage, including exterior door number signs, pathway indicators and classroom numbers on exterior windows, all designed to make it easier for first-responders to find specific locations.

Additionally, a grant of as much as $255,000 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services will help officials create digital maps of all 73 school facilities so that first-responders will have detailed information immediately in the case of an emergency.

The school system also is due to receive 10 additional school resource officers. Funding for those positions was included in the current fiscal year budget, but hiring challenges have caused the positions to remain unfilled to date, Cashwell said. The positions are meant to provide sufficient relief for existing SROs when they need to be out of school for training or personal reasons.

At Cashwell’s request in December, Henrico Police K-9 units have begun conducting more frequent sweeps through school buildings, as well. Cashwell declined during Thursday’s meeting to describe how much more frequent the sweeps are.

The additional safety measures come on top of 16 existing measures already in place within the school system – a list that includes:

• Anonymous Alerts, a system through which reports of potential violence may be submitted;
• crisis response teams;
• systems of emergency response protocol and training;
• threat-assessment teams;
• a rapid notification system in the event of an emergency;
• enhanced security cameras (all secondary schools have received updated systems in recent months).

“All of these things are in place and visible every single day within our schools,” Pritchard said. “The most important part of it, too, is that human connection that we have. That’s been our best resource in identifying problems and being able to deal with them. It’s that human element that has made the biggest difference in solving some of our issues that we’ve had.”