North Carolina District to Install Access Control at Middle Schools

North Carolina District to Install Access Control at Middle Schools

The entrances to middle school campuses will require visitors to ring in on an intercom system and be buzzed in by someone in the front office.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • December 04, 2018

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools school board approved Tuesday the purchase and installation of new security devices in an effort to increase campus safety. The security upgrades, which focus on access control, will be installed at every middle school in the district.

The entrances to middle school campuses will require visitors to ring in on an intercom system and be buzzed in by someone in the front office. The district’s elementary schools follow a similar procedure, but the system at the middle schools will be connected to the campuses’ video surveillance system.

Other entrances on middle school campuses, such as the entrances between buildings and to modular units, will have a card scanner and keypad for faculty and student use. The system will have set guidelines for the earliest and latest times in the day the buildings can be accessed by students and make sure a student’s access credentials are limited only to the campus they attend, according to district security director Jonathan Wilson.

The security upgrades were estimated to cost about $250,000, but the final costs came out to nearly $94,500. Wilson said that assuming there is no backlog on the access control devices, the goal is to have them installed by the time students return from break in January.

Ronda Mays, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, said the security upgrades are a good move, but it’s still important to work with students on preventative measures.

“When people get the help they need, that’s where real safety takes place,” Mays said. “So please, as you’re looking at keeping our school safe, we don’t just stick to these hard-wired measures, but we also include the human element and make certain that we have our student services ratios the way they need to be in our schools and (there) are student services individuals available to our students in our district.”

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Door Hardware and Campus Security: Enhancing Safety in Schools

    The importance of investing in school safety cannot be overstated, but knowing where to start implementation of school safety features can be a challenge. A recent survey by the National Center on Education Statistics found that a quarter of U.S. public schools have classrooms with doors that can't be locked from the inside. Even among schools with doors that do lock, recent legislation reflects a common misconception that simply keeping the doors locked all day will eliminate the potential for an attack, in direct violation of PASS (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools) Guidelines. Read Now

  • Brigham Young University Strengthens Campus Security With Genetec Operations Center

    Genetec Inc, a provider of enterprise physical security software, announced that Brigham Young University's (BYU) has optimized its security operations with the Genetec™ Operations Center work management system. Read Now

  • AI-based Risk Mitigation: The Next Advancement in Video Surveillance and Public Safety

    Safety is at the forefront of every organization and covers a gamut of scenarios, not just weapon-fueled lethal threats. It also includes smaller-scale and everyday situations like slipping hazards, fallen persons, unauthorized vehicles, and more. These issues cause disruptions in daily operations and cost companies and facilities money and downtime, so a fully realized security plan must involve actions that facility personnel should take once a hazard of any size occurs. Informing everyone that a hazard exists, where it’s located, and what actions to take is imperative for maintaining personal safety. Read Now

  • Fort Worth ISD Strengthens Event Safety

    The issue of concealed weapons being introduced into school extracurricular activities, including sporting events and graduations, became a growing concern in communities across the nation. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2024 across the United States, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced safety protocols. Read Now

Most   Popular