New Barrington Middle School has state of the art security system
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BARRINGTON, R.I. (WLNE): The superintendent of schools in Barrington said the new Barrington Middle School has the most sophisticated security system in the state that he hopes will set a new standard in Rhode Island.
On Monday, a ribbon ceremony was held for the $68 million facility that sits on the fields right to the old school on Middle Highway.
“Being the newest school in Rhode Island, we have integrated one of the foremost security systems in the state,” Michael Messore, Superintendent of Schools in Barrington said.
Messore said one of the biggest security features is a lockdown system, that only the school principal has access to. It overrides the fire alarm system. When the lockdown gets triggered it automatically goes to the police and fire departments.
Teachers also have the ability to lock down the school. In case of an emergency, there are keyscans throughout the school that will lock down the school by using keyfobs given to all teachers.
All classroom doors will also always be shut and automatically locked.
“None of the doors can be unlocked,” Messore said. “As soon as a student or staff member leaves the classroom, the door is locked when it closes.”
On top of that, interior and exterior windows in the school are made with “school guard glass,” which makes it more difficult to break.
“If they were using a sledgehammer or a firearm it would take them over 5 minutes to penetrate this glass and our response time with the police in town is less than 4 minutes,” Messore said.
According to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 61 people died from school shootings in schools K-12. In 2019, 10 people were killed from school shootings in schools K-12.
“I think now in every school district, here and around the country, that security is the number one priority,” Messore said. “Unfortunately with the environment today, that has to be the foremost concern.”
©WLNE-TV/ABC 6 2019
