North Penn High School’s Evolv Weapons Detection System is set up outside of Crawford Stadium before a recent sporting event. (Credit: Kyle Bonner)
A feature from "The Knight Crier" at North Penn High School.
It’s not every day students have to go through a security check to get into North Penn High School, but that’s what all students went through on Monday, September 23rd, as school officials continue to refine their processes for keeping the school safe and secure.
The device students went through is called the Evolv Weapons Detection System, which is being used all over the world in hospitals, stadiums, schools, and now North Penn. This screening was part of a new initiative set up by the security department in collaboration with the district’s Safe Schools Committee.
“Last school year, around springtime, I had made a decision in collaboration with superintendent Dr. [Todd] Bauer that this was a direction we needed to go for a number of reasons. Everything we do revolves around safety, and this was just another resource to be able to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can to make sure North Penn School District is safe,” Mr. Brandon Rhone, Coordinator of Emergency Management & Safe Schools at North Penn, explained.
The Evolv System uses advanced AI to detect weapons or components of a weapon and is conveniently portable. Students may have seen them across North Penn recently for a variety of reasons.
“The resources would be deployed consistently for large events and then randomly or as needed during the school day, so what you experienced on Monday was one of those random deployments,” Rhone explained. “It’s not a permanent installation so it allows us to take it wherever we need it.”
Safety is a concern for many kids and parents, and is a huge part of the world we live in today; North Penn is working towards making school as safe as possible.
“The most important thing on any given day is safety. If you’re not safe, your ability to do whatever it is, whether it’s come to work, go to school, or go to a sporting event, is reduced. When we think about where else these types of systems are deployed, such as the MLB, NFL, airports, parents should think North Penn is doing everything they possibly can to deploy whatever resources are necessary that when parents send their student to school, they are safe and come back home the way they went to school,” Rhone noted.
“If people want to be in the know of what’s happening from a school safety standpoint, be sure to tune in on the last Monday of every month, 5:45 p.m. for the Safe Schools Committee meeting, which is held virtually. We discuss a lot of initiatives, best practices, and deployment or implementation of different safety measures,” Rhone added.
Information about how to join and participate in school board and committee meeting can be found on the North Penn website under the school board meeting schedule and information section.
