COHOES, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Students at Cohoes High School are walking through a new layer of security this week, as the district rolls out metal detectors at the entrance.
School leaders say the newly installed metal detectors are meant to enhance safety. By doing this it will change what the start of the school day looks like for students and staff. This week students and staff will be going through training to get used to the system.
As students enter the building, they will take their Chromebook, their phones and anything containing heavy metal that’s going to set off the system. If they do not, the green light on the detectors go red and a beeping noise goes off.
“If something beeps and it goes off, we do a quick bag search, a secondary search, and then they go on their way. If they have something that they shouldn’t have on them, it’s handled in accordance with the code of conduct,” said Laura Tarlo, the principal of Cohoes High School.
Several other local school districts like Albany and Schenectady have implemented similar security protocols. NEWS10’s Tyanna Xavier spoke to Principal Tarlo about why she thinks this technology is also a good fit for Cohoes High School.
“I think it was part of this multi-year layered plan on how do we make our schools the safest environment possible. And certainly, schools mirror society in your community. So while there are incidents in the community, we want to make sure that our school is a safe place where academics and learning are the main focus,” said Tarlo.
The scanners were approximately $56k and were funded through the local budget.
Training finishes on Friday and the new system is set to officially begin next Monday. As time goes on, Tarlo mentioned having these metal detectors at homecomings, football games and other school events.
Read the latest from NEWS10:
- Remarkable Women: Sarah Craig
- New bill targets sports prediction markets: What are they, and why could some be banned?
- School districts, local leaders raise concerns about electric bus mandate
- Proposals to combat 3D printing and using Glock switches
- New Mexico jury finds Meta violated state law in child safety trial; company to pay $375M
NEWS10 is the Capital Region’s local news leader!
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NEWS10 ABC.