Thursday, August 14, 2025–11:20 a.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

School safety is considered a key component in student achievement, and the Rome City School Board recently got an update on safety measures throughout the system.

According to John Fricks, Director of Instructional Technology, Safety, & Operations, a new high-tech weapons detection system called Opengate recently went into effect at all Rome City Schools elementary schools.

“Every elementary school now has Opengate capabilities, and it has been really great,” he said. “It’s lightweight and super-easy to use. We are actually able to transport these around because they are mobile. So, it gives us a little more flexibility with what we’ve been doing. If you were at Barron Stadium last Friday night, we actually utilized these at the stadium, and had a lot of positive feedback that we have gathered from people in the community as they are going through them, saying thank you for having them. So, it’s been a huge plus on that end.”

Another key safety feature that is fully implemented this year, is Zone-R.

“Students have different color-codes on their IDs that you will see this year,” Fricks said. “That’s a new piece that really ties into whether or not a kid can be dropped off when they get off the bus. It helps our bus drivers know the grade levels. So, if you see a kid with a yellow badge, that simply means they have to have an adult when they get off the school bus. Inside of Zone-R, we have a lot of different features, including student ridership tracking, real-time data, enhanced student safety, and a parent-guardian app, which is through Stopfinder.”

With Stopfinder, parents can see the route of their child’s school bus, arrival times, and where the bus is traveling.

The app proved useful in a recent situation where a bus driver became ill, by showing the exact location of the bus and which kids were on board.