DETROIT (WXYZ) — The rise of deadly school shootings and other attacks is leading school districts across the country and in Southeast Michigan to incorporate more technology for safety.
AI technology is now being used for school safety more than ever, and school leaders tell me it’s making a huge difference in protecting children.
“I’m OK with AI being utilized within the schools. I mean, we’re utilizing it anyway," Stacy Jackson, a parent of a child in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, said.
As a parent who often worries about safety in schools, Jackson said the use of modern technology to improve security is something every school district must embrace. It's also something more and more parents are lobbying for in the wake of mass shootings like at Oxford High School and Michigan State University.
“School safety is a big issue nowadays," she said.
To learn more about how schools are adapting, I sat down with Dr. Joe DiPonio, the superintendent with Lake Shore Public Schools in St. Clair Shores. He oversees a staff of 500 employees whose mission each day is to educate kids in the safest environment possible.
“How many schools and students are you responsible for?" I asked.
"We have 3,000 students; six schools," he said.
DiPonio said their annual budget for security has grown to include $400,000 for partnering with the group Fortis, to provide armed retired law enforcement. But there's also an AI system that costs $250,000.
“We used to have six hall monitors that could see six areas at one particular time, and it just amplifies the impact we can have," DiPonio said.
He said surveillance cameras, a security operations center and AI alerts amount to a force multiplier.
“Being able to identify people that should not be on campus, providing input into the system, so it sends alerts to let us know if someone is approaching the building that shouldn’t be there," he said.
According to statistics from the National Center for Education, over 90% of schools in the U.S. now require visitors to sign in and wear badges; nearly 80% use security cameras and keep doors locked during the day; and 92% of public schools update emergency operations plans annually.
In Hazel Park, another system called Centigix is an alternative to AI.
“Kid had passed out, they were able to trigger the alert and get the AED there, on time and help that situation," Brad Wilkins, the technology director for Hazel Park schools, said.
Staff now wear alert buttons, part of a badge that can quickly trigger alerts. Hazel Park is among the first in Michigan to use Centigix.
“It’s in all our schools. Preschool all the way up to secondary," he said. “Depending on what kind of alert they do, it can flash on every staff member’s screen in the classroom, so they know the building was put into a lockdown.”
For another perspective, I contacted Zero Eyes, a cutting-edge company that's found a way to enhance safety at nearly 40 school districts in Michigan.
“Zero eyes is an AI analytic that overlays onto existing security camera network that schools would have," Ryan Pendleton, the sales director with Zero Eyes, said. “We use that to identify any weapons, and threats to the school proactively. Then, at that point once we identify there’s a threat. Weapon or knife with the cameras. We immediately verify that.”
Pendleton points out that the human element of review on top of their AI technology is something the company said is a must for the system to be as effective as possible.
All of this comes at a time when students face growing threats and worries over attacks on campus.
“Any additional support to allow school safety, in our schools would be a big help," Jackson said.
All those I talked to are saying they’re grateful to the State of Michigan for making more funding available to keep our kids safe.
