Inside a Long Island school’s revolutionary new security system: ‘Going to save lives’

“It’s going to save lives,” XSponse CEO Lee Mandel said of Plainedge High School’s new state-of-the-art protective system unveiled ahead of the new school year

Announced a day after the tragic shooting of Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, each classroom at the North Massapequa campus has been outfitted with doors that autolock during emergencies and high-tech video monitors that first responders can access in real time.

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A Long Island school has rolled out what it says is one of America’s most advanced security systems.
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A Long Island school has rolled out what it says is one of America’s most advanced security systems – able to autolock doors and assess threats in split seconds.

“It’s going to save lives,” XSponse CEO Lee Mandel said of Plainedge High School’s new state-of-the-art protective system unveiled ahead of the new school year

Announced a day after the tragic shooting of Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, each classroom at the North Massapequa campus has been outfitted with doors that autolock during emergencies and high-tech video monitors that first responders can access in real time.

“No one has been able to put eyes into a classroom. We’re, in essence, putting a first responder in every single classroom,” added Mandel.

School officials — each of whom carries a special smart-ID badge to activate the system — can make both announcements and livestream video through the devices to classrooms sheltering in place.

Badges have a Life Alert-esque panic button that, when pressed, sends a hyperlocal GPS location to its exact whereabouts in the building through a detailed, color-coded map of campus shared with responding authorities.

“Having that makes it incredible to really speed up the reaction time and the response for first responders,” Mandel said.

The badges also correspond to an active second in-classroom device that can communicate to the outside. Panic buttons are also placed around the school for students to use in emergencies.

Security monitor displaying live feeds from multiple cameras in a school.
School officials can make both announcements and livestream video through the devices to classrooms sheltering in place.Dennis A. Clark
Plainedge High School cafeteria with tables and chairs.
Badges have a Life Alert-esque panic button that, when pressed, sends a hyperlocal GPS location to its exact whereabouts in the building.Dennis A. Clark

The system’s feed, which is transmitted through hardwiring rather than relying on WiFi, is then shared with first responders and can be viewed at a command center in Superintendent Edward A. Salina’s on-campus office.

These high-tech monitors, which are front and center in each classroom, have shields over the cameras for privacy that are lowered only for lockdown procedures.

“Our staff is highly supportive,” said Salina, who explained that the use of XSponse was voted on by parents and the public and is being integrated across the district.

Empty high school hallway with new security system.
The badges also correspond to an active second in-classroom device that can communicate to the outside.Dennis A. Clark

“They’re actually entrusted with taking care of the most precious assets in the world — children — every day. Anything they can do to make our children’s lives safer and better. They’re on board.”

To rule out misuse or tampering, the XSponse system can also detect aggressive behavior or vocal pitches and take a snapshot of whoever is touching one of the devices, added Salina, who is also incorporating armed guards into the school.

It also includes vape monitors embedded into ventilation systems to detect in-school smoking without students being alerted by a visible detector.

“We even have our system being tested for fentanyl detection right now, which is very, very big,” Mandel saod.

Significant supporters

What XSponse is doing in Plainedge — a blueprint for other schools across the nation — has been supported by two parents who have lost their own children during the Parkland school shooting of 2018.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the senseless attack, now works with the company to promote school safety.

“My daughter would want to know I’m making a difference in the world,” Pollack, originally of Oceanside, said.

Plainedge High School hallway with security system and emergency equipment.
To rule out misuse or tampering, the XSponse system can also detect aggressive behavior or vocal pitches and take a snapshot of whoever is touching one of the devices.Dennis A. Clark

“It’s amazing technology. I went to a board meeting in Plainedge, and it was a big turnout…they all wanted to see it.”

Ryan Petty, who lost his daughter Alaina in the shooting, emphasized how significant even a few split seconds taken off a response time can be.

“Parkland was over in under six minutes,” Petty, now a member of the Florida State Board of Education working with XSponse, said.

School lockdown announcement screen and speaker.
It also includes vape monitors embedded into ventilation systems to detect in-school smoking.Dennis A. Clark

“Plainedge’s emergency response system will save minutes of time.”

A local celebrity, East Rockaway’s Joe Gannascoli, who played Vito in “The Sopranos,” serves as a parent ambassador for the company, simply because he has a high school-aged daughter.

Inside a Long Island school's revolutionary new security system: 'Going to save lives'

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