Allentown School District revamps safety approach amid changing leadership: Weapons detectors installed, mental health supports increased

Allentown School District will have fully operational weapons detectors in place this month at Allen High School as a new safety precaution.

Starting April 23, students, staff and visitors who enter Allen will walk through the detectors. By the end of May, the weapons detection systems also will be in place at Dieruff High School and Building 21. If determined to be effective, the systems could later be installed at district middle schools.

Allentown School Board first approved 30 Opengate weapons detection systems along with base plates, test pieces, handheld detectors and staff training, for $557,000 in October, after there were multiple instances of weapons brought into schools throughout the last couple years. The detection systems will be installed at doors in each of the high schools with high foot traffic. There will also be two detectors in place at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

In the midst of the implementation of these detectors, Brandon Pasquale, the district’s director of safety and security, has tendered his resignation for personal reasons, Superintendent Carol Birks said.

Andrew Stengel, an investigator in the district’s human resources department, will serve as the interim director of safety and security, pending approval from school directors. Stengel is a veteran and retired FBI agent. The implementation of the weapons detectors will continue as planned despite this transition.

The detectors find guns, knives, bombs and other weapons based on the density of the object; they aren’t metal detectors.

Each machine consists of two gray poles stationed parallel to each other. The tops of the poles light up green when people pass through if no weapons are detected. If the system is triggered, the poles light up red and beep, alerting security of a potential weapon on the person.

Upon entering school in the mornings, students will pass their laptops around the machines because the spines of the computers falsely trigger the detectors. Students can walk through with their backpacks and cellphones.

After a safety forum last Thursday, George Clay, president of the safety officers’ union, said officers are trained to manage when the detectors are alerted.

If a student walks through the detector and the system is triggered, staff would have the student walk through the detector again without their backpack on. This would help security determine whether the item that triggered the detector is on the student’s person or in their backpack.

If security determines a potential weapon is in the backpack, it would be searched. If officers determine the item of concern is on the student’s person, they would use a handheld wand detector to scan the student.

The wand doesn’t touch the student in this instance and could help officers determine if an item other than a weapon is triggering the system, such as jewelry or a belt buckle. (The system is not likely to be falsely triggered by these items, Clay said, but staff still would investigate as a precaution.)

If the wand is used on a student and it is still detecting a potential weapon, then a search of the student may be authorized by an administrator. All searches will be conducted by a staff member of the same gender as the student in question.

This process applies to anyone who enters the building and triggers the system, not just students.

If safety officers find a weapon while searching a backpack or a person, Allentown police would be called to dispose of the weapon and next steps would be handled by the school’s administration. If safety officers do not find a weapon, but find another item that is against the district handbook’s guidelines, the district’s standard disciplinary process would be followed.

Clay, who is also a safety officer at Allen, said staff initially was concerned about how quickly students would be able to move through the machines in the morning, but “the training made it a lot easier to understand and know what was going on.”

He said Allen officers will see what works and what doesn’t in coming weeks as it relates to the detectors. They will track how quickly students enter the school in the mornings. This information will help with implementation of the machines at the district’s other two high schools in coming weeks.

Parents, students and community members were allowed to walk through the detectors as part of a demonstration at the recent safety forum. Participants could carry a test piece through the machines that triggers the same response as when a weapon is found; security also offered to scan participants with the handheld wand to see how it works.

Cathy Martinez and Andria Vargas are both parents who attended the forum. They are also members of the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council, which voted in favor of installing weapons detection systems in the district.

Martinez, who is the parent of an Allen student, said she was hesitant about the detectors at first, noting she was concerned about how searches would work.

“I had questions about it, of course, as any parent would. How is it going to be handled if it does go off?” she said.

But after seeing the demonstration and learning more about the process, Martinez said the detectors put her “more at ease,” knowing her child is safe during the school day.

Vargas said she is happy the district is installing the detectors. She said the machines are not intimidating.

“Now that we’re actually here and we can see it and touch it and go through it, it was super noninvasive,” she said. “I was able to go with all my stuff and not take anything off.”

Birks said the weapons detection systems are part of a multitiered safety approach the district is taking.

ASD was awarded $45,000 through the Meritorious Grant last month and these funds will be used to enhance threat detection through Drift Net’s security system. Safety officers can screen visitors with a background check and any specific alerts that are entered by staff. The district is waiting to see if it was awarded a Competitive School Safety Grant.

Vape detection systems, activated in schools in November, are also part of the district’s anti-violence strategy. These sensors detect “aggression” by measuring vibration — for instance, student fights in a bathroom — and help staff identify safety incidents.

Additionally, mental health supports will also be essential to the district’s safety strategy, Birks said.

The district recently hired three social workers, bringing the district total to eight.

School directors also approved two digital health platforms in February to ensure the physical and mental well-being of students and families. Birks encouraged the ASD community at the safety forum to use these free resources.

School directors approved the renewal of the Counslr mobile app for $57,500. The app is available to high school students until at least the end of July when the current contract expires.

Counslr provides students with unlimited live text support from licensed mental health counselors 24/7. Counslr is available in English and Spanish. If necessary, counselors can provide students with resources, make referrals for long-term support and alert the district if a student is experiencing a crisis.

Starting in May, all students and parents can also use Hazel Health for telehealth medical visits regarding physical illness or mental health concerns. The digital platform cost the district $240,000.

“As we look at safety, it’s a multitiered approach,” Birks said. “It’s not just about the technical machine that we purchased or the cameras, but we’re also working on developing the whole child.”

Morning Call reporter Jenny Roberts can be reached at jroberts@mcall.com.

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