Led by Visionaries, Spartanburg County District 6 and Florence 1 Schools Take Proactive Steps to Boost Security Without Disrupting Students, Faculty or Administrators

WALTHAM, MA – February 13, 2020 – Evolv Technology, the leader in human security, today announced that South Carolina school districts Spartanburg County District 6 and Florence 1 Schools have installed Evolv’s AI-based, free-flow weapons-detection systems to keep students safe in an age of increasing viral violence. On the heels of successful initial implementation in recent months, paired with positive feedback from students, teachers, parents and administrators, Spartanburg School District 6 has increased the number of Evolv systems now in use throughout their campuses.

South Carolina has 85 school districts. Spartanburg School District 6 – the state’s 20th largest with approximately 11,500 students and 900 certified staff members – is one of seven districts within Spartanburg County and includes three middle schools, a ninth-grade school campus and a high school. The 11th largest in the state with more than 16,000 students, Florence 1 includes three middle schools and three high schools and is the second largest employer in Florence County.

Taking proactive measures to keep students safe was paramount for both school districts, especially given the increasing frequency of school shootings and related incidents. The districts required a technology solution that would help prevent threats from entering their campuses—such as guns, large knives or explosives. Equally important was maintaining a welcoming environment paired with the ability for students to move quickly through screening in order to ensure they got to class on time and no lines were created. Evolv’s technology eliminates the need to choose between safety and experience reducing the burden on security teams and taking the hassle out of people-screening.

“District 6 is a forward-thinking, progressive school that has long been focused on education and innovation and we always put our children first,” said Dr. Mark Smith, Director of Student Services and Safety at Spartanburg 6—the first school in the nation to use Evolv’s AI-based free-flow weapons detection system. “We wanted to incorporate security technology not because we had any incidents, but because we wanted to ensure we never have one. I’d been researching security strategies and next generation technologies searching for a solution that delivered optimal security while providing a welcoming, non-prison-like environment for everyone on campus. I’d been coming up short until I discovered Evolv. They checked all the boxes. Based on the outright success of our initial implementation, and outstanding partnership with Evolv, we’ve expanded the number of systems throughout all of our high schools and middle schools.”

“Prior to using Evolv, we used metal detectors,” said Douglas Nunnally, Director of Security and School Safety, Florence 1. “They were highly inefficient because they created lines, prompted an overwhelming number of manual and secondary searches and there was no way to capture any screening data.

“We want students in class learning, not waiting in lines. We needed a system that would speed up the screening process without decreasing security and with Evolv, the process is better, faster and smoother. Notably, it gives us full visibility into screening numbers via the system’s dashboard, while providing us the ability to connect to a security operations center when we’re ready. Evolv offers a true partnership. They don’t just drop off the systems like other vendors—they’ve partnered with us from the start to support and train our staff, and ensure a great experience for our students, faculty, administrators and visitors.”

While metal detectors are good at finding metal, they do not work well in modern environments as most people carry metal such as smart phones. Moreover, metal detectors prompt the need for an extremely high number of additional screening measures such as X-rays and hand searching, inconvenient for those being screened while adding time, creating lines and increasing cost. Up until now, this forced schools to choose between student safety and student experience.

Driven by a mission to keep people safe as they go about their daily lives, Evolv has redefined weapons-screening and threat detection. Led by a team with proven track records for providing first-to-market products by pairing security expertise with advanced technologies, Evolv’s patented systems combine AI and sensors to differentiate and identify threats from personal items. Doing so allows students to quickly pass through screening individually or in groups – with backpacks on shoulders, phones and keys in pockets and carrying musical instrument cases or other items. Because the system is trained to differentiate weapons from personal items and provides image-aided alarms for targeted secondary screening, the need to search every bag no longer exists.

“As a father, I know all too well that schools today not only need to provide the best educational experience for students, teachers and staff, but that they must also help keep them safe from harm,” said Evolv Chief Executive Officer Peter George. “In the first 46 weeks of 2019, there were 45 school shootings. We simply cannot accept that to be the ‘new normal’. Spartanburg 6 and Florence 1 are taking demonstrable action in that regard and they’re paving the way for other school districts when it comes to protecting their schools. We’re honored to be a part of that journey.”

To ensure a successful implementation at schools, Evolv developed a proprietary implementation methodology in a “Playbook” that is provided to school customers during the deployment planning process providing best-practice insights into security system design, concept of operations, user support services, and staff training.

Learn how Evolv is helping school districts keep their students safe without sacrificing the student experience. More here.

Visit us at AASA 2020 National Education Conference in San Diego, CA on February 13-14, 2020 at Booth # 154;  See a live demonstration of Evolv’s Free-Flow Weapons-Detection systems.

About Evolv Technology

About Evolv Technology

Evolv Technology is the leader in human security. The company is dedicated to making the world a safer place to live, work, learn and play by helping to protect innocent people from mass shootings, terrorist attacks and similar violent acts. Evolv’s AI-based, free-flow weapons-screening and threat detection systems work at the pace of life to accommodate thousands of individuals and groups per hour – screening 50 million people to date in a rapid, undisruptive manner while preventing more than 5,000 weapons from entering a range of public and private facilities. In addition to South Carolina’s Spartanburg County School District 6 and Florence 1 School District, Evolv’s customers include the Lincoln Center, Oakland Airport, Gillette Stadium, L.L. Bean and hundreds of other top entertainment venues, schools, international airports, stadiums, corporations, hospitals, large-scale events, houses of worship and national landmarks around the globe. Led by a team of security industry thought leaders with a track record for delivering first-to-market products, the company holds more than 100 patents. For more information, visit https://evolvtechnology.com/.