Colonial School District details expanded training, detectors and monitoring systems as part of safety upgrades

At a safety summit held at William Penn, Colonial School District officials outlined a series of security and student-support measures the district said it has added or will launch, including expanded ALICE active-shooter training, additional metal-detection units, access-control upgrades and new monitoring software.

The district said the measures are intended to improve response capability and to identify students in crisis earlier. "If you see something, say something," a district official said, summarizing the partnership the district seeks with parents and the community.

District staff said they have switched to a new platform to centralize safety plans and exercises; are testing an AI-enabled camera system at William Penn High School; bought a second metal-detection system that will be based at McCullough Middle School but be available districtwide; and completed a secure vestibule at Newcastle Elementary, with access-control upgrades planned next at William Penn and at staff centers. John Barr (referred to in the meeting as "JB") described continuing site-level drills — fire, lockdown…