When Huron City Schools Superintendent Dr. James Tatman was looking to act and leverage the newly implemented Ohio Safety and Violence Education (SAVE) legislation to increase safety and security of the buildings in his district, he started his search with security window film and looked no further than Avery Dennison.
“School security is a top priority for all school leaders,” Tatman says. “Students need to come to school feeling safe and welcome. Having a physically safe environment is a key element for overall safety. Schools also want to maintain a welcome and inviting appearance for students, parents and the community in the building. Safety and security window film addresses these priorities.”
“The superintendent reached out to me knowing that Avery Dennison is a leading window film supplier,” says Dan Cvelbar, Avery Dennison senior sales manager-east region. “We offer one of the industry’s widest ranges of security window film solutions.”
Safety and security window films are a retrofit solution to increase the security of existing doors and windows. When an intruder tries to gain access by breaking the glass, the security film helps to keep the glass in place in the window frame. That delays the intruder, giving the building occupants and first responders more time to react. Proper installation is essential in keeping the window secure if the glass is broken.
“When considering various security enhancement options on the market, return on investment is maximized with safety and security window film,” Tatman says. “It has little to no ongoing maintenance and will function as designed for the life of the facility.”
Cvelbar, who represents Avery Dennison on the board of directors of the International Window Film Association (IWFA), explained the different product options to the superintendent and the building resource officer, and what the installation process would involve. The school district sought quotes from several dealers that Cvelbar recommended and ultimately selected Mentor, Ohio-based Solar Solutions Window Tinting to do the installation.
Rachel Schabroni, lead installer and manager of Solar Solutions, has partnered with Avery Dennison on a number of architectural window film projects.
After she reviewed the details with the superintendent and the building resource manager, the job ended up including every exterior entrance — mostly double-doors — along with many ground-floor windows in the three buildings.
“We started with the high school,” Schabroni says. “When they saw how good the Avery Dennison R Silver 20i 12mil safety reflective film looked they asked us to use it on all the buildings.”
“The reflective film has added benefits of privacy from intruders or others,” Tatman says. “With the film in place, the time needed for a successful forced entry is extended beyond the time needed to clear an area and for first responders to report to the scene as tested through drill scenarios. Our school resource officer regards the film as a game-changer for first responders.”
“The R Silver 20i 12mil is a unique product,” Cvelbar says. “We are seeing school districts really starting to go towards it in the last year or so. The film provides the reinforced protection, a sophisticated appearance and a high level of heat rejection, while also providing privacy.”
The installation process at each school was different.
“The middle school had all different size windows, so we had to keep moving the film handler, which holds the roll of film and pulls the piece very close to the size needed for a given window,” Scharboni says. “It makes installation a lot easier but moving it around is not the easiest thing to do.”
“We get a lot of eyes every time we install,” Scharboni says. “People are fascinated by the process. They do not realize you have to take the glass out of the window frame and pull the rubber weather seal to install the film. Then you put the glass back in and caulk the film over the final rubber and onto the frame. This takes a little longer, but you have to have that sealed edge to hold the glass in place if it is broken.”
“They were efficient with their work, did not disrupt the school day, and they followed up to ensure the project was completed to the district’s satisfaction,” says Tatman. “The consistent collaboration between Solar Solutions and Avery Dennison ensured this installation’s success.”
“We were delighted by the response from the school faculty and staff, too," Scharboni says. “They loved the way all the schools looked with the reflective film, but especially the high school. The biggest thing for them was the way the film shielded the view into the high school cafeteria, which is directly inside the main entrance. They had worried about some person with bad intentions being able to see right into that space and breaking one of the big windows to get in. “
“It was a good feeling to see it all come together at the end, knowing the superintendent was happy and that the kids and the teachers and staff in the schools are going to be a lot safer now,” Scharboni says.
