Private school adds new safety feature to campus

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Despite multiple safety features already in place, Hosanna Christian Academy is taking an extra step to keep faculty, staff, parents, and students safe while on campus.

Executive director of the academy, Russell Marino says, “One thing about protecting people is minimizing the risk associated with danger. I just looked into what I had to work with and there was a need for improvement.”

With that mindset, the academy becomes the latest school to install an Athena Security Weapon Detection System to improve campus safety.

“Safety was always a big issue and accomplishing a mission,” Marino adds.

CEO of Athena Security, Lisa Falzone says this system is part of the next generation of weapon detection technology.

Falzone explains, “It is so much better than a regular metal detector where it doesn’t slow down traffic”

The system screening can rule out keys and phones, identifying metallic threats.

Marino explains, “One of the flexible features is the sensitivity that can be adjusted.”

So how does the system rule out harmless items vs weapons?

Falzone explains, “We used a multitude of different types of sensors, radars, lidars. It is a combination of everything.”

Marino says despite the tragedies that occur across the nation; he looks at those situations as learning curves for school safety.

Marino continues, “I came away feeling sad for them but grateful for the fact we have addressed every issue brought up.”

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