Would you take a stand with me?

pennysuedog · December 2012

I want to change the security in our schools. I know this will not prevent every tragedy from happening but it is a step.

We have a system in our schools where you have to go to the office and sign in.(No Id needed) You get a name tag and then you can go along your merry way. If you do not have a name tag people will stop you and direct you back to the office. Several times I have forgotten to sign in and no one has ever stopped me. I could have been to a kindergarten class within 10 seconds of walking in the door.

I feel our system gives people a very false sense of security. My mother and sister both work at schools and they both feel that the security is a joke.

I don't know how to actually fix the the security problem but what we have is broken. I am not sure how schools in your area are ran. I would like everyone to look into it and question how safe and secure your systems are and start emailing your district if you have doubts. I have already emailed my superintendent. My mother says all we can do is hope and pray that this doesn't happen again. This is the wrong answer. We all have voices and I'm sick of this. I'm want my schools not to be an easy target.

Chunstad · December 2012

The school that I worked at was exactly as you described-however the school secretaries did a good job of checking ID. The new school that was built's door leads directly into the office, you couldn't slip away if you wanted to.

thetheisens · December 2012

My son's school locked and you have to buzz in, state who you are and why you are there and then the office is right there when you open the door and you sign in with the secretary and get a tag. Do not all elementary schools lock the doors? I thought it was done everywhere now.

ETA- I misunderstood, you are talking about making sure everyone's ID is checked.

ETA- I am laughing at my first spelling of "miss understood".

CA2006 · December 2012

I totally agree with everything you are saying. The only issue in this case is that the shooter was the son of a Kindergarten teacher. He likely would have made it past everything except a metal detector.

pennysuedog · December 2012

thetheisens:
My son's school locked and you have to buzz in, state who you are and why you are there and then the office is right there when you open the door and you sign in with the secretary and get a tag. Do not all elementary schools lock the doors? I thought it was done everywhere now.
ETA- I miss understood, you are talking about making sure everyone's ID is checked.

My school is not locked, no buzzing necessary.

Fianschneid · December 2012

CA2006:
I totally agree with everything you are saying. The only issue in this case is that the shooter was the son of a Kindergarten teacher. He likely would have made it past everything except a metal detector.

This. Sadly, a lot of security is based on the assumption that the offenders wouldn't have clearance.

A girl was killed at my high school (see the story about McCluer North here: https://www.columbine-angels.com/School_Violence_1994-1995.htm). Afterwards, the whole school was pretty much on lockdown. All students had to wear ID badges at all times. Security cameras were installed in every hallway. No one could enter without checking in at the office. Dress codes were enforced. Unfortunately, as the link above shows, the murderer was a student and would have had no problem getting around those security features.

ETA: I want to make it clear that I understand that the nature of these murders and the intent behind them were very different. I'm merely discussing the flaw of the secure systems, not comparing shooting crimes to beating, etc. or the number of victims.

mrsgabus · December 2012

Oh my! I may never move out of Maryland.

Dylans schools (the one he went to till october and his new one) all are locked, you have to buzz in, you have to sign in at the office using your drivers license and it then prints you out a visitors badge.

You also have to sign your child in if you are running late as they are very strict on tardiness.

cantalopes24 · December 2012

E's school gets locked down 5 minutes before the late bell and you have to be buzzed in. If your kid is late you can't go past the office. To be allowed in during the school day you have to have done training, had a background check and 2 written references that are followed up by phone interviews. None of that would obviously stop someone who wanted to do something though short of metal detectors and cops in every school I don't know what would.

cantalopes24 · December 2012

And like mrsgabus kids school they scan your license the first time you volunteer and while they check it every time they also cross reference with the photo they have on file. Which of course means every time I volunteer in art class everyone gets to see my drivers license picture plastered on my chest.

colliebabe · December 2012

CA2006:
I totally agree with everything you are saying. The only issue in this case is that the shooter was the son of a Kindergarten teacher. He likely would have made it past everything except a metal detector.

I was thinking the exact same thing about this case as well. I've visited my mom at her school before.

I work at a high school (suburban) and we have four security guards and two resource officers. We also have the buzzer system and every visitor has to sign in, get their ID scanned, and get a pass. Our students are not allowed to bring backpacks to school either.

One problem at our school is actually some of the parents. They get angry when you won't let them in any door and make them walk to the main entrance, pressure students walking by to let them into any entrance (luckily we enforce to our students that is completely against the rules) and give the people doing the ID scanning/visitor pass a hard time. I just want to scream "We are doing this to keep your kid safe!!!!"

And honestly, as a HS teacher, I am more afraid of a student doing something than an outside person. Like I mentioned in a previous post, we just had a rumor of a kid threatening to bring a gun to school on the 21st. Luckily it was investigated and proven to be just a rumor (no one actually made a threat), but our school is on even higher security alert now. I've been there for 6 years and been through 2 gun threats and 2 bomb threats so far (all students, all expelled and sent somewhere to get help, but still.)

kagl08 · December 2012

mrsgabus:
Oh my! I may never move out of Maryland.
Dylans schools (the one he went to till october and his new one) all are locked, you have to buzz in, you have to sign in at the office using your drivers license and it then prints you out a visitors badge.
You also have to sign your child in if you are running late as they are very strict on tardiness.

Here in PA it's the same way you just described. There's no way of getting by the front office, although if a teacher's son came in like PP said... He'd likely bypass every security measure available. It's just how it usually goes. My mom works for the local elementary school in the front office.

Ms.Jade · December 2012

I'm in charge of eco education programs for LA County. I visit a LOT of schools in all kinds of areas. All of them have the simple sign-in policy, but at Inglewood HS (high crime area) you must walk past a security guard, sign in at the office, and wait to be escorted onto campus by someone. When you leave you must be escorted all the way out of the buildings and onto the street. In all of the schools I visit including LAUSD schools, this is the most sophisticated system.

thetheisens · December 2012

Wow, I am shocked that not all school are locked. I live in Iowa in a pretty small city that doesn't have high crime and all the schools in my area and the surrounding small towns all have locked door policy.I feel secure with my son's school and I think all schools need to be locked and all visitors need to be buzzed in to sign in and out. I know that it won't stop everyone, but really, people shouldn't be able to walk in off the street into the school.

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