The Ashe County Board of Education discussed the new school’s safeguards on March 30, following a conversation about a March 25 firearm incident at Westwood Elementary School that led to the arrest of two parents after their child unknowingly brought a weapon to school.
Although authorities said the student didn’t have criminal intent, three parents criticized the school system’s response to the incident and its teacher training in metal detection.
Engineers have designed an alarm system at the new middle school’s main entrance that is closed off from the main facility.
Also, the new middle school will have multiple cameras for on-site surveillance and door alarms with card-controlled access. Designers have created school hallways with an optimal line of sight, crucial for preemptively identifying intruders and potential assailants.
School officials are also installing metal detectors to screen 500 students within 45 minutes at the start of each school day. However, designers continue to research systems offering varying degrees of protection, with some screeners detecting items as small as a paperclip.
The new middle school designer attended Virginia Tech University during the 2007 massacre that left 32 people dead.
“She has actually done a lot of research on these plans,” said Allison Kemp-Sullivan, the project coordinator and liaison for the new middle school.
However, designers and teachers differ on visions of safety and surveillance. For example, designers recommend increasing the amount of glass in classrooms to allow educators to spot incoming threats. Teachers disagree with this philosophy, said Kemp-Sullivan, who added that ACMS will not have this feature.
