JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools is in the process of installing metal detectors at Springfield, Mandarin, Oceanway and Ribault middle schools this week.
Installation started Monday, Feb. 9.
Duval County School Police Chief Jackson Short said by the end of April that all public middle schools in the county will have metal detectors.
He said there was not one specific reason for adding the metal detectors, but that it’s part of the district’s strategic plan.
“Our top two priorities at the district are academic achievement and student safety. We have multiple layers of safety for students and staff. They overlap and complement each other, so adding the weapons detection to the middle schools is part of that safety plan,” Short said during an interview on my 10 a.m. News4JAX+ streaming show. “Sometimes a student brings a firearm or weapon to school just for show-and-tell or to show a kid or for a reason that has nothing to do with wanting to do bad things, but we still need to catch those weapons to keep the school safe.”
Schools
Students are required to watch a video explaining the process of passing through a metal detector to avoid long lines getting onto campus.
Short said the best way to remember what students need to remove from their backpacks before passing through the detectors is the word: B.L.U.E.
“It stands for Binder, Laptops, Umbrellas and Eye cases. Those four things can create a false positive on the machines, so those students are taught to pull those out of their backpacks, go through the machine, and the staff will check,” he explained.
Here is the most current schedule of schools where metal detectors will be installed:
- Week of Feb. 9: Springfield, Mandarin, Oceanway, Ribault MS
- Week of Feb. 23: DuPont, Fort Caroline, Highlands, Kernan
- Week of March 2: Arlington, Landmark, Southside
- Week of March 13: JWJ, BTS-Middle,
- Week of March 24: JSMAL, Matthew Gilbert, Mayport
- Week of April 13: Twin Lakes, Julia Landon, YMWLA, LaVilla
- Week of April 20: Mattie V. Rutherford, Westview K-8, John E. Ford K-8, GRASP
Short says metal detectors installed at Westside, Chaffee Trail, Fletcher and Lake Shore middle schools last month have not detected any weapons.