MARSHALL COUNTY, Ky. (KFVS) – In western Kentucky, one high school is starting the new year with new technology, to keep its students safe.
For Marshall County Schools superintendent Steve Miracle, his students are like his kids.
“I think all of us as educators, we look at our students when they walk in the building as our family, our own children,” Miracle said. “It’s kind of like viewing them as them having our last name.”
With new school year starting, Miracle says a new technology system called Evolv will create a safer way to protect students as opposed to metal detectors.
An engineer with Evolv, Mike Santoro, explained how the system works.
He said the system uses a combination of sensors, screens and cameras as well as AI enabled software to distinguish the difference between a gun and a cellphone.
“It allows individuals to walk through free flow at the pace of life, with their friends or families, not be stopped,” Santoro said. “And in the event that they do actually have one of those potential threatening items, that’s when it alerts them and sends somebody to secondary screening.”
He explained the new machines can screen nearly 2,000 students in an hour.
One former educator and now advocate for Evolv, Jill Lemond, says this new tech makes it easier for teachers.
“I think we’re asking our teachers and school leaders to do too much, and one of my favorite benefits with this system is the technology is doing much more of the work,” Lemond said. “There is no perfect way to prevent school violence, but we do everything as educators and school leaders to mitigate those risks.”
Which is something Miracle can agree with.
“It’s something we’re looking at every day: how can we always be at our best,” Miracle said.
Thanks to a grant from Evolv, this technology cost the school less money.
The metal detectors being removed will be donated to the grade school to wand adults.
Copyright 2023 KFVS. All rights reserved.