Pennsylvania School Uses Locked, Rolling Security Grille to Control Spectators, Secure Building

• By Heather Bender
• November 12, 2024

St. Jude School in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, is a private Catholic elementary school that serves students from Pre-K through grade 8.

Recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, St. Jude offers diverse educational programs designed to foster a nurturing and challenging learning environment, and extracurricular activities like sports are an integral part of promoting teamwork, discipline, and physical fitness.

Host to numerous sporting events and after-school activities like basketball games, St. Jude School is routinely tasked with keeping its visitors within a designated area inside the school to ensure the rest of the building remains secure and assets are protected. Until recently, before games or other events, school staff were prompted to turn a table on its side in front of a corridor to prevent people from entering other parts of the building. This was far from being an effective security measure.

Aside from providing a visual cue to visitors that the area beyond the table was off limits, the tipped-over table offered St. Jude School virtually nothing in terms of security, as anyone could simply jump over the makeshift barrier. Deciding it was time for a more robust solution to control visitor traffic and properly secure the building, the school consulted Clopay Corp. to help.

New Grille Scores High Marks
After listening to St. Jude’s needs, Clopay offered to donate one of its Cornell branded CrossingGard Grilles to provide the crowd control and asset protection that the school required.

Clopay then enlisted the help of A&B Door Sales & Service, Inc., a local family-owned and operated business also located in Mountain Top. In business since 1977, A&B Door specializes in installing and servicing overhead doors, including the CrossingGard Grille, and the company offered to donate the labor and ensure the door was properly installed.

To install the CrossingGard Grille, the A&B Door team started by opening a one-panel-wide section of the drop ceiling above the corridor where the grille was to be installed. An electrician installed the power supply, and A&B Door then measured, fit, and hoisted the counter-balance shaft and motor into position inside the ceiling opening. Once the shaft and motor were secured, the team finished up with the guides and curtain and had all work completed in less than a day.

Now, the CrossingGard Grille provides a strong, sturdy floor-to-ceiling corridor blockade during extracurricular activities, giving the school a more flexible and secure use of its space. With an open-pattern curtain of aluminum rods and vertical chain links, the grille also delivers optimal visibility. In the event a student or staff member is inadvertently locked behind the closed grille, other staff can easily see them and open the grille.

“We’re thrilled to have the CrossingGard Grille at our school,” said Sister Ellen Fischer, member of the Sisters of Christian Charity congregation and principal of St. Jude School. “This innovative addition will enhance our ability to manage foot traffic during after-school events and bolster our daily security efforts for the safety of our students, faculty, and staff.”

Head of St. Jude School maintenance Joe Bayley added that the installation and location of the grille are perfect.

“The new grille fit right into the spot where we needed it—right where we used to put the table,” said Bayley. “Installation went smoothly, and the grille is so well hidden in the ceiling you don’t even realize that it’s there when it’s up. It rolls down seamlessly and has key access on both sides. It’s so easy. You just put the key in with no instructions or training needed.”

Bayley explained that the school has security cameras and glass-breaking alarms, but what it really needed was a way to contain visitors and control access to certain areas of the school. Now, he says, no one has to constantly check the cameras to make sure people are staying in the proper area or perform the cumbersome task of setting up the table and taking it down.

“We sometimes come back at night to catch up on maintenance tasks, and there are often people in the building. I used to have to check the calendar each month to try to keep track of which activities were going on and where they were in the building so I could account for who might come into our work area,” said Bayley. “Now, I can just close and lock the grille, and I don’t have to worry about it.”

“A big thing, too, is liability,” added Sister Fischer, who explained that the new grille prevents students from going into areas of the school unsupervised. Sister Fischer said she is also pleased with the CrossingGard’s look and its quiet operation. “You can barely hear the gate, and it looks nice, too, with the clean tiles, walls, and molding. A lot of people don’t even notice that it’s there when it’s open.”

Extra Credit in Emergencies
While the secure barrier provided by the grille was St. Jude School’s primary requirement, the CrossingGard Grille offers other enhanced features specifically for emergencies. These include:

Fail-safe Operation:If the CrossingGard Grille is notified by alarm, if power fails, or if the emergency exit push-button is activated, the curtain immediately moves to a fully open position with no electrical supply required. After an event, the curtain returns to its closed, secure position with the touch of a button. This feature complies with International Building Code Means of Egress Section 10, combining secured space separation with emergency egress capability.

Integration with an Existing Alarm System: If a school or building chooses the optional ThreatProtect feature, the grille can be tied to a threat alarm system, allowing the curtain to close quickly during lockdown events and keep out hostile threats. ThreatProtect also opens the curtain when the fire alarm is triggered to provide safe egress.

Conditional Security Performance: If an intruder attempts to force the grille open by pushing up or pulling down on the grille, the AutoLock Link feature engages the grille’s scissor links to prevent the grille from opening. No manual locking or unlocking is required, and the AutoLock Link feature remains disengaged during normal and emergency operation.

Complementing these emergency safety and security features, the CrossingGard Grille also offers the rugged performance of aluminum and steel materials plus optional finishes for the guides and bottom bar like SpectraShield Powder Coating in more than 180 colors. With so many choices, schools can easily match the grille with their school colors while also adding a durable protective finish.

Graduating to a More Secure Solution
The collaboration between Clopay and A&B Door at St. Jude School is a prime example of how businesses can work together to enhance community safety. By integrating advanced solutions like the CrossingGard Grille, schools can create more secure environments and control when and how their space is accessed. The grille is also designed to respond in an emergency, with features that allow it to function safely without an electrical supply and connect to a building’s alarm system.

“We’re always looking to improve school security,” summarized Sister Fischer, “and I highly recommend the CrossingGard Grille as an innovative solution for schools.”

This article originally appeared in the November / December 2024 issue of Campus Security Today.