Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Going to Bat for School Safety

  • 04/01/18
Bilco

Kohlton Calvey is in the process of raising over $2,000 to purchase 16 Barracudas to help keep his school safer.

When a police raid at a nearby home triggered a lockdown at Clayton Intermediate School in Dennison, Ohio, Kohlton Calvey saw fear in the eyes of his classmates and knew he needed to respond. Now, the 10-year-old fourth-grader is raising money and taking measures to ensure the safety of his peers and help them find comfort in threatening situations.

Calvey recently outlined a request to the Claymont City School Board to purchase easy-to-use mechanisms that improve door security against unwanted trespassers. The Barracuda, a device invented by SWAT team member Troy Lowe and offered by The BILCO Company of Connecticut, is designed to lock down virtually any commercial door in emergency situations. The safety device is available in different models to protect doors that swing both inward and outward, and is adjustable to fit on varying door widths.

“After the lockdown, my mother and I were looking on the Internet and what I liked about it was that it’s easy to use,’’ Kohlton says. “I liked the demonstration in the video.”

Kohlton is seeking to raise nearly $2,000 to purchase 16 Barracudas, one for each room of the school. He had raised $673 and has several more fundraising ideas planned, such as a bake sale and a school-wide “Hat Day” where students can contribute. He has also received private donations and hopes to receive some funds from a school dodge ball tournament.

Zurcher says interest in The Barracuda developed after police raided a house a block from her son’s school. Administrators placed the school on lockdown. “I could see whenever we went on lockdown, my classmates would get nervous,’’ Kohlton says.

The Barracuada features heavy-duty steel construction and a durable powder coat finish. The product can be transferred easily between different access points.

www.bilco.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management April 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.