Class is back in session and one Michigan school has taken an extra step this year in ensuring that kids are safe inside the building. Glen Lake Community Schools in Leelanau County is the first Michigan school district to install a new security system that can detect gunshots, according to reports.
“One thing we’ve heard loud and clear is whatever it takes to keep kids safe,” Superintendent Sander Scott told television station WEYI.
The enhanced security measures at Glen Lake come as schools across the country reopen with unprecedented security measures to confront the unsettling reality of school shootings. Though rare, they are a significant component of school violence in America, according to a joint report by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education.
The stations are installed in every classroom and in the hallways and they work just like a fire alarm. In the event of a shooter situation, a student or teacher could pull the alarm and the police would be called.
But there’s a second component, too, a “plan B,” officials said. In the event a human can’t reach the alarm, the system also works like a smoke detector. If the sensor picks up on a gun fire, it will notify the authorities and put the school into a lockdown.
The system cost $156,000 to install for the district.
“People trust us to keep their kids safe and to educate them while they’re here and we take that responsibility really really seriously,” Scott told the local news station. “So we really put together a comprehensive and unique system that we think will be the model for schools not only in Michigan but perhaps across the nation.”