A Practical Approach to School Security

It’s not lost on me that a deeply ironic counterpoint exists between our district’s new Mission Statement -- which reads, in part, ‘… believing every child deserves a childhood,’ -- and my use of valuable print space to address ‘school security’ rather than a more inviting, educational message. However, since the Newtown tragedy, other random acts of violence have continued to rock our world; and during the summer of 2013, school security usurped a prominent place on our projects list.  More so than anything else, this topic needs addressing.

Last January, an Ad-Hoc Committee of the Board of Education began researching sensible changes which would make our children safer.  We quickly learned that the key concept in school security is not ‘prevention,’ but rather ‘moments matter.’  The experts taught us you can’t prevent an incident from arriving at your doorstep; but the longer it takes for any incident to unfold, the less damage is done and the sooner it ends.  We looked at the factors that made us ‘soft targets’ -- such as unlocked doors, ready access points, and poor line-of-sight.  Our police department and fire department generously spent time helping us through a SWOT Analysis – a study of our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Orange didn’t go crazy with new initiatives.  With almost every installation, I can honestly say we either played catch-up to, or surpassed, the security measures already existing in newer school building, and even many of our parents’ workplaces.  We concentrated on the principle ‘moments matter,’ and planned strategies that either made unobserved access difficult or lessened the response-time of emergency personnel.   We concentrated our efforts on identifying visitors (with security monitors and software), improving our alert systems (with surveillance cameras and rapid-call notification), and slowing down illegitimate access (by locking exterior and classroom doors and adding sally-ports).  Some of this security is ready for the start of school; some of it is still coming. 

Our new security monitors will check visitors in and out, and the computer software they will use, School Gate Guardian, adds an additional layer of safety.  With a quick scan of a driver’s license, the software makes a digital record of our visitors and matches them to a child in our system.  If there is a custody problem, the software alerts the monitor.   Parents may grant permission for others to take home their children, but no one can take their children from school without their permission. 

Just last week, from a pool of 109 applicants, we hired four new security monitors for the 2 – 9:00 p.m. shift.  Earlier in the summer, we moved our current monitors to newly-created day shifts, beginning at 7 a.m.  This week we’ll order their neon shirts and plan their professional development which will include everything from conflict resolution … to CPR and defibrillator training … to management of the School Gate Guardian software.  

The hardware we’ve purchased was also carefully planned.   This week, we finished installing a rapid-response system with several important, inter-connected components. We can now keep every exterior school door locked at all times.  A proximity card reader, located outside the school, is personalized to each teacher’s ID and will open locked exterior doors.  The teachers will use their ID cards to open the front door before school and the back door after recess.  The same system has a powerful camera, and the security monitors or office personnel can ask someone they don’t know to hold an ID in front of the camera so they can read it.

An additional piece of equipment, sometimes referred to as a ‘panic button,’ puts the school in lock-down.  With a simple push of a single button, the fire doors close, a lock-down announcement goes out over the PA system, and an emergency call is made to the police.  There are both stationary and portable buttons.  In addition, the new video surveillance cameras (not the same camera described above) will allow the police to monitor the exterior of the buildings (the playgrounds, loading docks, parking lots, etc.) and the interior corridors, gym, and cafeteria from their cars.  

I realize the new security measures have made access to the schools a little more difficult for parents, too.   I also realize that the chance of a significant emergency is infinitesimally small.  But, all of the security measures we’ve taken will protect Orange in other ways as well.  We need locked classroom doors, during lunch and recess, if we are to encourage kids and teachers to bring their Kindles and iPads to school.  We need interior and exterior cameras to prevent vandalism, to apprehend vandals, or to determine the cause of accidents.  We need to record who takes our students home and when they left the building.

This is a new world our children live in; but as adults, it is our responsibility to confidently surround them in reassurances that keep their childhoods intact.

When Character Counts!

I want to share with you an amazing example of one child’s courage and character at the end of the Orange Olympics, an annual athletic event which took place at High Plains on June 12, 2013.  But, first a little background. 

 

In education, as with many other fields, we tend to rely on catch phrases which are intended to resonate with the audience and make a complex concept more meaningful and memorable.  Sometimes, however, our jargon does the opposite because the phrase is wide open to a variety of interpretations.   ‘Whole child education’ is one of those terms.  What does it mean?  On the surface, it even seems a little silly – after all, who would teach half of a child?

Whole child education, however, refers to the idea that all children learn best when their academic, emotional, physical, and social understandings are addressed.  Yes, we write report cards and update you on the CMTs and other standardized tests as evidence of our students’ academic achievements.   In fact, for a while now, it has seemed as if educational thinking, practice, and policy have been singularly focused on academic achievement.   In Orange, that is not the case.  We all know that to be successful participating world citizens, our students must also be healthy, confident, self-motivated, considerate, and honest.  In other words, they need to be young people of character.   These attributes are, of course, treasured by our families; and we realize what we do in our schools supplements these same values you are teaching at home.  But, be assured, all of our schools do focus on these qualities through programs, such as ‘Character Counts,’ through planned philanthropic activities, and by capitalizing on ‘teachable moments’ when they occur.  Yesterday’s event at the Olympics illustrated the importance of ‘whole child’ character education perfectly; and hopefully, all of our students paid attention and learned something of value.

At the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, a young man was called up to podium to receive his gold medal for winning his event.  He took the stage, and in front of his peers and a crowd of parents found the courage to express, ‘I didn’t win this; it doesn’t belong to me; the person who actually won this event has the same first name as I do, but he’s the person who won.’   Imagine the nervousness he felt in front of a crowd; imagine the choices running through his head.   He could accept the medal and keep it.  He could accept the medal, for now, and then after the ceremony, give it back and explain it wasn’t his.  But, he took the least easy path available to him and chose ‘doing the right thing’ at the moment when doing the right thing was called for.  In front of everyone, he ensured that the medal and recognition went to the person to whom it belonged.

That’s character!

The Death of Boredom vs. Bored to Death

I worry about my grandchildren, specifically, and our youngest generation of students, generally, and their overall inability to accept boredom into their lives.  Without boredom, how will they think? 

When I was a child, my mother and father expected me to rake, shovel, dust, and do a whole host of very boring things.  Yet, while I did these chores, my mind was active.  As a duster, I remember ‘staging’ commercials in my mind.  I could dramatically wave my hands and ad lib about my streak-free shine and Pledge’s ability to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.  As I got older, I used the boring times, such as walking home from field hockey practice or washing dishes at Friendlies, to problem-solve the ‘major’ issues in my young life.  I ran scenarios; I pre-scripted upcoming events (as in, I’ll say this, and then he’ll say that, and then I’ll say…); I made plans, both for the weekend … and for the future.  Even now, when I’m driving home to Massachusetts or gardening in the backyard, my mind is active.  Boredom is important to my mental processes.  Boredom is where I reminisce about the past and sift through new opportunities, ideas, and solutions.  Boredom leads to a clear mind.  A clear mind leads to creativity.

The problem I see in my beloved and beautiful grandchildren is their desire to fill every moment with activity and their complete uneasiness with ‘boredom.’  If we are waiting for a table in a restaurant, riding the escalator in the mall, or even standing in the kitchen, waiting for the toast to pop up, they are texting or playing a quick game of ‘Draw Something.’   In the back seat of the car, they have headsets on, cutting them off from both conversation and observation. 

They call it multi-tasking, but they watch TV and are on their computers or cell phones at the same time making even TV-watching less cerebral (if that’s possible!), because they aren’t processing either the facial expressions or the dialogue.  If you ask them a thought question about the show, they respond, ‘I don’t know. Why?’ as if thinking about the story-line was absurd. 

I love them dearly, but I worry that I never, ever hear them complain ‘I’m bored;’ and as a result, I never, ever get to say, ‘Well, think of something to do.’

For more information about kids, creativity, and boredom, check out:

Aha! Parenting's "Why Boredom is Good for Your Child"

Essential Kids'  "The Battle to Let Them Be Bored"