In light of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, school security has been a prevalent topic on the minds of students and teachers in schools across the country. Talk of increased security in schools has topped newspaper headlines, led to debates about the best ways to make schools safer and sparked passionate protests against gun violence across the world. Our school already has security measures in place to ensure the building’s security and students’ safety and it is taking additional steps.
A major aspect of school security are Resource Officers. They do an immense amount of work from before the school day begins until after school. They make certain that the building is secure by checking all the doors in the school and making sure that they remain locked throughout the day. Anyone coming into the building during the day has to go through the main entrance and ring the bell to get in.
Resource Officer Kip Davis starts his day by unlocking the back doors near the student parking lots and then locking those doors after the late bell rings. He then checks all the doors throughout the school to make sure that they are locked and nothing is propping them open.
“Kids will put pencils and rocks and stuff [in the doors] like if they’re running out to their car, so we check quite often because we always want the school to be secure, to where any visitors have to come in through the front door,” Davis said.
Throughout the day they roam and clear the hallways, making sure kids in stay in class. The Resource Officers work with the administrators to help solve problems and keep the school safe and secure. They are also trained to identify anyone who does not belong in the school.
Despite their important efforts, due to the recent Parkland shooting and other acts of gun violence, students and staff may be wondering what is being done to increase our school’s security.
Changes to improve security are being implemented with respect to both the building and our Resource Officers. The recent addition of two more Resource Officers brings the total number from three to five. This allows greater coverage of the building, and it further enhances the security of our school. Also, one of the new staff members is the first female Resource Officer that our school has ever had.
“We typically have had three security resource assistants, and we’ve been able to get staffing for two more so we have five in total… one of those is a woman and that’s important because sometimes stuff happens in the bathrooms and that sort of thing too,” Principal Bridget Loft said.
Another way security is being improved is through continued and increased monitoring of all school doors, especially the ones where students are frequently coming and going.
“We’ve redoubled our efforts to ensure that all of the perimeter doors are locked,” Loft said.
One way that the building will be more secure is through changes to the door that goes from the pool into the school.
“They’re going to be adding a second door to the pool door… the second door will be kind of near the check-in desk… and the only way to get through that door is if you’re a teacher with a swipe card, or if you’re pool patron going in to use the pool,” Assistant Principal Scott McKeown said.
This should reduce the number of people setting off the alarm, but it will still allow people to come out to use this door as a fire exit.
Another security issue is the Public Address (PA) system that is difficult to hear in certain areas of the building. The administration is working to fix that issue, and they are working to fix the the emergency call buttons. These devices are imperative in emergency situations, and their lack of functionality could present serious safety issues.
“We’re going to make sure that those are all up and running because again, like the PA system, some of those aren’t working too hot,” McKeown said.
Despite many measures being taken to maintain school security, there are still challenges present with the need to have a safe yet accessible school.
“I think [the challenge] is balancing the ease of access to the building with the need for it to be safe,” Loft said.
Administration works to maintain a balance that allows a sense of normalcy to persist while still being vigilant towards possible threats and security challenges.
School security is not just something that can be achieved by the administration; it takes the diligence of the entire school community.
“It takes all of us, students included, to really be vigilant, so that saying ‘see something say something’… we’ve put some things in place to make that easier, so we’ve got an anonymous reporting link on our website … and all of our administrators and our counselors are as accessible as possible,” Loft said.
While school security is a major concern, the administration and Resource Officers are aware of potential challenges to school security. The recent shooting and Parkland and other acts of gun violence can leave many feeling disconcerted and worried about their safety inside of their school.
“I would say take care of yourself. If you’ve got questions ask them… if you’re feeling anxious use your resources, your counselors, administrators and the crisis link, but I think if you allow yourself to perseverate on the anxiety, that doesn’t help you live a normal life,” Loft said.
Balancing an awareness of challenges to school security and still feeling safe in school is a challenge that our school community and other school communities across the nation are working together to achieve.
