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School board learns how to Evolv in safety
This is how the west entry to CHS, just north of the gym, is envisioned, as students approach the Evolv system to enter the school. (Courtesy RRPS)
RIO RANCHO – There once was a time in America when the nation’s schools were thought to be one of the safest places to be.
Also believed to be safe places were churches and stores.
Then came the 21st century, and many believe there is no virtually safe place.
Rio Rancho Public Schools wants to be in the forefront of protecting one of the city’s most valuable assets, its children, and is taking additional steps to do what it can to keep concealed weapons off its high school campuses.
In line with that goal, members of the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education met Oct. 2 for what turned out to be an hourlong special work session to get an update on the Safety & Security department’s feasibility report and implementation report on the Evolv Express system.
An Evolv system has been in operation at Cleveland High School since the school year began in August and recently implemented at Independence High School. There has been a positive response from students at both schools, board members were told.
The system is also planned to be installed at Rio Rancho High School, once the numerous access points are reduced — and that was a topic of the update on Oct. 2.
The goal: to provide a secure perimeter.
Board members were shown a possible entryway on the west side of the campus, basically between the gymnasium and what will be a new building planned for just west of the cafeteria; an 8- or 10-foot burnished concrete wall to be built near the gym and space between the gym and cafeteria would filter students into the Evolv entry point, probably the most-used entry in light of its proximity to the student parking lot.
When RRHS opened in the summer of 1997, the campus and courtyard were pretty much open to everyone — before the killings at Columbine High School and then in other schools in the years that followed.
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Board member Noreen Scott said she thought the planned changes make the RRHS look more like a prison, but “I understand the need for a wall.” It was noted that with the need for funding, in which the Legislature will be approached, the total new system probably won’t be in operation at RRHS until sometime in 2025.
“In our world, safety isn’t guaranteed,” noted an Evolv spokeswoman. “It’s not a metal detector; it’s a weapons detector.”
Non-threatening items — cellphones, money clips, belt buckles, etc. — won’t set the system off and delay screening time. An alarm and a light are activated when a weapon is detected, and the operator quickly notices that.
So far, the lone drawback — Safety & Security Executive Director Sal Maniaci said no guns have been detected by Evolv at either Rio Rancho school — has been for students unable to hold their Chromebooks above the head-to-toe detection system; Maniaci said a component — “a barrel hinge” — in the devices is similar to parts of a weapon. Three non-conductive conveyors have been bought and are on their way to be installed to allow those shorter students and others the ability to place their Chromebooks on it, scanned separately and quickly.
“Are we going to get some false positives? Of course we are,” he noted.
Superintendent Sue Cleveland told the board that she understands parental concerns about wanting devices such as these at the middle schools and elementary schools, but the high schools needed to be among the first installations “because there’s 3,000 people on those campuses. … It’s coming, for middle schools and elementaries, (which have) smaller campuses and fewer doors.”
Maniaci was asked about implementing Evolv systems at the gymnasiums and stadiums, attracting hundreds and sometimes thousands of folks.
“That’s on our radar,” Maniaci said. “Rio Rancho Schools is exploring the possibility of making athletic events safer, potentially using the Evolv system.”
According to its website, “Evolv Express spots concealed weapons and other threats using advanced digital sensors and artificial intelligence. It’s incredibly accurate and can screen up to 3,600 people per hour — 10 times faster than traditional metal detectors.” Evolv’s customers include L.L. Bean, Six Flags Theme Parks, Wynn Las Vegas and hundreds more.
The company said Evolv’s technology has been used to screen more than 60 million people — second in numbers only to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration.
