Districts turn to AI to keep guns out of schools

According to a 2022 analysis by market research and consulting company Omdia, the U.S. education sector for security equipment and services was expected to reach more than $3.1 billion in 2021, for public and private elementary and secondary schools and higher education institutions. Growth in this market is projected at 8% annually, according to the company. 

Most of the projected growth is expected to come from upgrading systems and services to be more technology-based, said Bryan Montany, a senior analyst at Omdia. Additionally, according to the data collected in 2022, nearly 90% of all U.S. schools use video surveillance systems to monitor at least some portion of their facilities and almost every school controls building access through an access control system.

Counting more firearms in schools

The 142,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg district adopted Evolv technology for school entry points in March 2022, starting with seven of the district’s large comprehensive high schools. By the end of the 2021-22 school year, the technology was in 21 high schools. As of January 2023, the scanners were in 68 schools, including all middle, high and K-8 schools, and some smaller magnet high schools, Schultz said. The district has a total of 181 schools.

Between August and December 2021, before the scanners were installed, the district recorded 22 guns on campuses — more than in the entire previous school year, Schultz said. 

“So that was very alarming,” he said. One of those guns fired accidentally during a student altercation, although no one was hurt.  By the end of the 2021-22 school year, 34 guns had been discovered on school campuses throughout the district that year.

Although Charlotte-Mecklenburg had emergency preparations and safety protocols, it had not been actively looking for firearms at that time, he said. After schools reopened to in-person learning during the pandemic, the district, like some other districts across the nation, noticed more physical aggression by students and firearms being brought into schools. 

The U.S. saw a record number of school shootings in 2022, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. David Riedman, founder of the database, told K-12 Dive in December that there was a shooting on a school campus “pretty much every single school day” in fall 2022.

Additionally, data collected by Reidman shows most school campus shootings last year involved student shooters. There were more school shootings in 2022 than in past years by students ages 10-18, he said.

In the first 35 days of 2023, the database recorded 35 school shootings.

Taking a phase-in approach

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg district phased in the scanners, choosing to add the first seven units in schools more likely to encounter firearms based on five years of data. 

Those seven schools, however, had larger populations of low-income and marginalized students, leading to some criticism from the community over the decision, Schultz said. For the next phase of implementation, the district included schools with a mix of student demographics and school sizes.

Before the implementation in schools got started, the district reviewed its safety policies and procedures, consulted with attorneys and developed training for staff. With its communications team, the district created talking points for principals, videos for community members, and a student orientation process to prepare everyone for new scanners, Schultz said.

The cost to the school system for the technology at 68 schools is about $15 million over a four-year period, Schultz said. The district asked to use federal COVID-19 funds to help offset the cost but the state turned that down, he said. The expenses are being covered through multiple funding sources including district capital funds, state and local sources, Schultz said. 

Schultz said the $15 million cost sounds high but is justifiable when divided by school — about $220,000 each —  or by every 6th-12th grade student — about $214 per student. “When you’re thinking about saving students’ lives, I mean, that’s a small price to pay,” Schultz said. 

Since the start of this school year through Jan. 27, the scanners have identified three guns on campuses — two from students and one from an adult — and staff were able to recover those weapons without incident, Schultz said.

‘It’s about caring for each other’

In spring 2022, Hopewell High School became one of the first schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district to install the technology. Principal Tracey Pickard describes the 1,800-student school as diverse and having strong school-student-family connections. 

So it was a shock in 2021, she said, when guns were twice discovered on campus. “It was clear we have to have something to deter students from feeling that comfortable bringing weapons into schools,” Pickard said.

In preparation for using the AI weapons detection technology, the district provided guidance on what to expect with the new school entry process. It also coordinated with the district on messaging to the community. 

Additionally, Pickard invited parents to a Q&A session on the new protocols. A small group of parents visited campus to see the system in action, and they then helped spread the message to other parents about why the school was taking this step, Pickard said.

The school also provided information and training to staff, as well as developed a staff leadership team to help answer questions from colleagues about the new system.

There were some learning curves when the system got off the ground. A combination of certain notebook binders, water bottles and umbrellas would set off alarms on the Evolv scanners. 

Students also have to hold Chromebooks in their hands as they go through the scanner. Some specific models of Chromebooks have characteristics that can present similar to a weapon and set off certain Evolv scanners, Evolv’s Ellenbogen explained. The company founder added that the detection algorithms of the Evolv Express system are being continually refined.

But now, as everyone has become familiar with the entry scanners, the process runs more smoothly, Pickard said.

The principal said she’s learned a great deal about school security over the past year, but mainly she’s gained a better understanding that students and the greater community want transparency about school safety threats and solutions. 

Before the scanners were installed, she had been hesitant to discuss school safety threats with students because she didn’t want them to feel unsafe. “But it was the opposite,” she said. “They wanted me to talk about it and they wanted me to be very clear about [saying] ‘This is not an option in our school. This is not going to define us because we are the Titans.’”

“We care about each other, and if we have a problem, if we see something, we’re going to say something,” Pickard said, adding that the scanners are only one part of creating a safer campus.

“It’s about us caring for each other and keeping our environment safe for each other,” Pickard said.

More than gun detection

Since the units were installed in the 68 schools, the district has seen fewer guns, as well as other prohibited items like vapes, drugs, knives and tasers, brought onto school campuses, Schultz said. 

For example, 94 incidents of weapons other than guns found on school campuses districtwide were identified during the second quarter of the 2021-22 school year. That compares to 40 such incidents during the second quarter of this school year, according to Schultz.

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“This is a community, this is a state, national issue that we’re all trying to figure out for the best interest of our students.”

Tracey Pickard

Principal of Hopewell High School

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But schools can’t rely on just weapons detectors alone to ensure safety, Schultz, Pickard and others say.

As school systems explore school safety measures, Schultz recommends bringing together community members to discuss proactive ways to prevent school violence. He also recommends learning from other school systems about their approaches.

Pickard agrees consulting on school safety solutions with other schools is helpful. “We realized we’re not in this alone,” Pickard said. “This is a community, this is a state, national issue that we’re all trying to figure out for the best interest of our students.” 

Pickard advises school leaders not to personalize school safety challenges. “You have to put pride aside and work with the people in the district,” Pickard said.

Creating a welcoming environment

School safety must have a layered approach that includes strong security protocols, as well as a school culture built on trust and open communication, said Jill Lemond, director of education at Evolv.

Lemond knows firsthand the importance of community engagement and collaboration regarding school safety issues. She was assistant superintendent of student services for Oxford Community Schools in Michigan when, in November 2021, a student fatally shot four classmates and injured seven others.

Schools should focus on strategies including weapons detection for keeping guns out of schools, Lemond said. But also needed is a priority on engaging staff and the entire school community, including students, in discussions about how to keep schools safer. 

Lemond added that the school day should allow time for teachers and administrators to connect personally with students. Building that trust can help students feel more secure in sharing information about potential threats, she said.

“We need to get back to basics,” Lemond said. “Let’s make eye contact, let’s say their name and learn their names. And let’s welcome them into the school environment every day, because the only thing that’s going to stop school shootings is kids not wanting to shoot the people in their school.”

Disclosure:  Omdia and K-12 Dive are both owned by Informa. Omdia has no influence over K-12’s coverage.