ATLANTA — As students begin to head back to school, safety and security concerns are among some school district officials’ top growing priorities and concerns across the Atlanta Metro area.

The Fulton County school district, for example, is investing in Avigilon, a high-tech video surveillance system that will be installed in over 105 public school buildings at a cost of $4.6 million, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The basic idea is to have one place to collaborate on emergency situations,” said Paul Hildreth, safety coordinator for Fulton County Schools, to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Safety comes in all forms — weather advisories, traffic alerts, as well as criminal activity.”

In addition to adding video surveillance, emergency alert systems, and more police and safety officers in Atlanta Metro school districts, recent construction projects like those in DeKalb County have incorporated several safety and security features across the district.

Fulton County is reportedly the fourth-largest school district in the state and has the funds for Avigilon’s elaborate system, but safety is an expense for all Metro school districts regardless of size. Some districts, like Gwinnett, Clayton and Henry counties, added more school police officers. Others like DeKalb County, which is Georgia’s third-largest school system, have invested $15 million in safety and security improvements in schools across their district.

Twenty metal detectors will be installed initially in five high schools throughout the district via a pilot program: Cross Keys High School (Region 1), Lakeside High School (Region 2), Stone Mountain High School (Region 3), Martin Luther King Jr. High School (Region 4), Towers High School (Region 5).

DeKalb County is investing $230 million into new facilities and additions, which will include two new elementary schools, in order to counter overcrowding in what is known as the Cross Keys Cluster, according to its website.

According to DCSD board meeting notes, the new construction of school buildings now includes roll-down doors that help to increase security if a non-authorized individual enters the school premises.

A report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.

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Code Blue

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The PD95’s unique design features a solid brass deadbolt with a one-inch throw, self-retracting hook with a non-marring latch bolt, 2mm thick faceplate in either stainless steel or brass, and trim-locking device for emergency egress. This means that the deadbolt automatically releases with a push of the inner handle in case of emergencies, and the ADA thumb turn helps meet code compliance for residential and commercial projects such as entryways, patios and classrooms. For interior doors, the optional coin release helps further ADA compliance and offers an additional safety feature; in an emergency where the occupant is unable to access the handle from the inside, the door can be easily opened from the exterior without a key.

Optional finishes include Satin Stainless Steel, Bright Stainless Steel and CeraMax ceramic-coated options in Graphite Black, Stormy Grey, Dark Bronze, Glacier White and Flat Black.

www.inoxproducts.com 

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Security is a big issue in the United States, and yet, most people experience a sense of either anxiety or annoyance at having to actually deal with it. This causes us to avoid security issues and do just enough to comply with regulations.

However, security is not about checking boxes on some regulatory list. In fact, we would be better off if we changed our perspective to see “security” as a greater concept of strength and resilience, as a journey and not a destination.

Here are five security principles that should guide any school security program. They are adapted from the Israeli security model and are all inter-connected and interdependent.

Control

In order to have security within a school environment, officials must control that environment. This means knowing who enters and who exits, and the ability to deny someone entrance or to remove someone who causes a problem.

Most schools, at a minimum, have a sign-in process for guests. However, very few schools have set up a system to alert them when someone has left. If an individual has entered the school, officials should become suspicious if they hang around longer than is natural. It does not mean they are up to something bad; it just means officials may want to check them out. The best way to make sure someone checks out is to take some form of collateral upon entrance. For example, one forward thinking school takes the visitor’s car keys upon signing in.

Intent

It is far more advantageous to understand an individual’s intent than to know what he or she is carrying. By learning to read intent, school officials will gain time in emergency situations and maintain environmental control.

The best way to learn to read the intent of individuals is to provide staff and faculty with training in recognizing suspicious behavior and tactical communication. These skills allow schools to develop an invisible force field within the community because the whole staff will have a sense of when something is amiss — and tools for how to deal with it.

Distance

Schools that can keep a threat at a distance have more time to respond and protect their communities. Many schools are reluctant to consider installing a fence, but a fence is simply a physically designated boundary. A fence will never keep a determined intruder out, but it does offer the ability to tell someone’s intent at a greater distance. If I climb your fence, you know I am up to no good.

Time

During critical situations, time is life. The No. 1 way to save lives during emergencies such as active-shooter events is to shorten response times and delay the attacker.

One of best and most overlooked security tools is 3M security window film for glass. This item functions to maintain the integrity of the window, even if the glass breaks. This means that even if someone breaks the glass, it stays in place and becomes a kind of screen that is very difficult to breach, even if an attacker is equipped with a sledge hammer or baseball bat.

If a school building has good doors and locks, the next place a person with bad intent will try to gain entrance is through windows. This is how the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary entered that school. When he could not open the door, he simply shot out the window next to the door and walked in. If the school had had security window film, the shooter most likely would have never gotten into the school and we would be telling a very different story today.

Response

Response to an emergency event comes in two forms:

Defensive – Get the school community away from the threat and/or prevent the threat from getting to them.

Offensive – Moves made toward the threat to stop it.

The more a security program is built to provide advantages within the above five categories, the more it will serve to actually secure the community. There is no end to fancy, expensive equipment, but schools that operate according to the above security principles can avoid buying unnecessary items, minimize costs and maximize benefits. After all, security should be about enhancing life.

Ariel Siegelman is a security expert, founder of DRACO GROUP, and consultant to Energy Products Distribution, a supplier of 3M security window film products.

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School design has come a long way since the "quick and cold" concrete structures of the 1950s. Today, architects work to create large, open spaces that meet project-oriented teaching styles instead of traditional, classroom-centered "chalk and talk" presentations. Wood is increasingly used to design warm, friendly learning spaces and add visual value. Exposed wood construction provides structural integrity as well as eye-catching design.

The types of materials used in school construction are quite often tied to regional preference and availability.

"School designers in some states, such as Texas, use masonry because that’s what they’re familiar with," said Tom Bates, vice president of Burr Lawrence Rising + Bates architectural firm in Tacoma, Washington. "It’s readily available and therefore a cost effective material. In the West, wood has long been the preferred material of choice. Architects are more in tune with the cost effectiveness of wood and the design flexibility it provides," added Bates, who is also a member of the Committee on Architecture for Education, a national AIA committee.

The use of structural engineered wood products-exposed glulam beams, trusses, and panelized wood roof systems-enables architects to design not only high quality and durable schools, but also schools that provide a warm and inviting place for children to learn.

"A desire to create a friendly environment is the single biggest factor in our decision to use engineered wood products in educational facilities," says Bill Payne, executive director for the Indianapolis architectural/engineering office of Fanning/Howey Associates. "Our design process is very interactive with clients. When we sense that a community is looking for a facility with more warmth we turn to wood."

Changing the Mindset in Texas

The Dallas-Ft. Worth area is home to several of the fastest growing school districts in the country, with plans for more than 80 elementary, middle and high schools over the next eight years.

Nearly every existing school is steel post and beam construction, with steel bar joists and metal decks. To find out why steel and concrete dominate the market, Ed Underwood, a senior engineered wood specialist with APA – The Engineered Wood Association, surveyed architects, engineers, school consultants, and school officials.

"Fire safety was probably the number one concern," said Underwood.

He noted that area building codes require sprinkler systems and a host of fire control measures in school construction, whether it’s steel, concrete, or wood. Should structural elements come under fire, wood beams have outlasted comparable steel beams in controlled fire tests, said Underwood.

Many people were also under the impression wood construction itself is a more costly avenue, but according to Underwood wood framed construction methods are very competitive compared to steel post-and-beam construction, even with lumber prices at near record highs.

A January 2003 independent cost analysis of an all-steel post-and-beam elementary school compared three wood framing options to the recently completed superstructure. Except for the gym, neither the exterior or interior architectural appearance, nor dimensions of the facility were altered.

"The cost savings to the superstructure were significant," said Underwood.

The third option (and most extensive use of wood) replaced the metal roof deck, and all load- and non-load bearing walls with wood. Cost reductions to the superstructure were 36 percent, or roughly $250,000. The other significant advantage: shortened construction schedules. The wood option described above is projected to finish 12 weeks ahead of the steel option because wood requires much less fabrication and erection time, and does not require specialized trades.

Mold and termites were also cited as factors against using wood. But as Underwood explained, mold grows on any surface, including metal and glass, if moisture is present. That means proper moisture detailing is critical to the overall success of any building. And that goes for termites, where the measure of success is determined by the pre-treatment of soil and ongoing pest control operations that all schools employ.

"We can show school officials how to save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, enhance the learning environment, and get their projects done on time," Underwood added.

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