Anand Shah ‘25

NEWS EDITOR

To increase the security of students and staff, the high school has introduced new security measures for the 2023-2024 school year. 

One new measure introduced this year is the addition of sensors on various doors on the perimeter of the building that, the high school’s principal Dr. Amy Jenkins said, send a direct notification to administrators if “propped open for a sustained period of time.” Dr. Jenkins also noted that alarms have to be “manually turned off by security.”  The goal of adding the sensors is to “discourage opening the doors” for long periods of time, according to Jenkins. 

Another new measure is the addition of signs displaying the room numbers outside of classrooms in the entire building. According to security officer Michael Hebb, “the purpose of the signs … is to aid first responders if they need to find a specific room.” Hebb said that having the room numbers displayed on the walls next to a classroom “wasn’t helping first responders quickly locate rooms in an emergency, so to help them and visitors in the building, [the school] added easy to see signs.” 

Not only does the form of new security come from the new physical measures, but also from an increased awareness amongst the teachers and staff in the building. Teachers have been “assigned different areas to cover” and supervise during Lunch and Learn, with teachers being encouraged to sit outside their classrooms during that time. 

Teachers are also required to display the Standard Response Protocol, which details various security responses and actions teachers and students need to take during different situations. The Standard Response Protocol ensures “students, staff, administrators, and first responders are talking the same language,” said Jenkins. The Protocol is designed to work in tandem with CrisisGo, an app that teachers and administrators can use to “quickly communicate with each other,” to “standardize and officialize a response in an emergency,” said Jenkins.

The purpose of implementing the new security measures is to further protect students and staff to prevent emergencies and to aid in quickly resolving emergencies should they arise. As Jenkins noted, “Security of the students and staff is the number one priority for [the administration], so [the administration] is always looking for ways to improve security.” That being said, the district is still working on improving communication with students, staff, and law enforcement and emergency response agencies. Jenkins stated that “the Standard Response Protocol was put into effect last year, but [the administration] didn’t do a very good job communicating it to teachers and students.” The administration is continuing to implement additional safety practices in the coming months. Hebb noted that in April of 2024, “[The school] plans to have an active shooter drill with staff only.” Occurring on an in-service day, the drill will consist of “staff navigating and learning how to deal with an active shooter threat through roleplaying and mock shooter situations,” said Hebb. Both Hebb and Jenkins noted how the drill will help staff gain awareness of and become better at responding to a variety of emergencies. “[The school’s] main goal is to provide an education in a safe and secure environment, ” said Jenkins.