WW: School Security
These are egress doors in an occupied school gym. Luckily they are going to be replaced shortly, but meanwhile, I'm Wordless.
Memo from the New York State Education Department
It seems like just about every week I see a new classroom security device that promises to thwart intruders and help keeps kids safe in school. As I've said multiple times, many of these devices are not code-compliant, and trade security for life safety. In evaluating these products, my criteria are...
WWYD? School Security
In addition to providing support and training on door-related code requirements, my job also includes participating in code development - helping to propose changes to the codes that affect our business, and reviewing proposals from others. There is currently research underway that may propose to add school security requirements to a national code...
School Shootings – A Closer Look at the Statistics
Every school shooting is disturbing, but seeing a number like 74 shootings is enough to drive schools to use any methods possible to protect students and staff from the imminent threat of an intruder. As we've discussed before, many of the security devices being employed by schools are not code-compliant, and/or not a good long-term solution.
WWYD? Classroom Vision Lite
Last weekend I was at a party and found myself across the table from an unsuspecting teacher-friend who had no idea that she was about to be grilled about the security procedures at her school...
School Security in the News
The following article announces yet another "classroom security device." Despite the inventors' best intentions, I do not support methods of securing classrooms that a) inhibit free egress, b) prevent fire doors from latching, or c) can be used by unauthorized individuals...
A Call to Action
This is a guest post from John Truempy, CRL, CMIL, president of ALOA - Institutional Locksmith. This article appeared in ALOA's publication - Keynotes, last October. My question for you is...how can we use our industry expertise to help with these efforts?
FF: The Sleeve
After Tuesday's school shooting in Oregon, there were several news reports about a school security product developed by a group of teachers. It's called "The Sleeve," a steel sleeve that fits over the door closer arm to prevent an intruder from opening the classroom door from the corridor...
WWYD? Elopement in Schools
Even if we only consider the space with the smallest occupant load - the classroom, the codes do not give us many options for preventing a student from eloping. If the classroom has an exterior door that is required for egress, it can not be locked in the direction of egress....
WWYD? School Seclusion Room
Some schools include seclusion rooms, where a child may be placed if he/she needs time to calm down without endangering themselves or others...
Stabbing Incident in Pennsylvania High School
At least 20 students at Franklin Regional Senior High School in Murrysville were injured, and the alleged attacker is in custody, said Dan Stevens, a spokesman for Westmoreland County Emergency Management...
WWYD? School Entrance Trim
Bob Larson of Builders Hardware brought up a good question the other day...what's the best way to handle the outside trim on the exterior pairs on a school? We all have our preferences, but given the changing security...
FF: Another School “Solution”
First, a few things...For everyone who still has their fingers and toes crossed from yesterday's fire door test, the wood doors passed! In addition to addressing the perimeter clearance problems, a door shoe was tested...
WWYD? School Sign In
What do you think? Did the school overreact, considering that the parent was known to staff? Or should adherence to security plans be a zero-tolerance policy?...
Schools Liable for Lack of Security?
Should schools be held liable for "unacceptable" levels of security? How much security is enough? What steps can schools take to not only provide physical protection for the building and its occupants, but to protect against lawsuits?
WWYD? Connecting Classroom Doors
Many classrooms have a door connecting to the adjacent classroom. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since most classrooms do not require a second means of egress, I think those doors are typically there for convenience. I tried to find something in past codes that would have required the second door, but so far I only see the requirement for a second means of egress when the occupant load reaches 50 or more. (Note: There are some situations where a classroom may need to have a second means of egress because it is not located on the ground floor.)
School Security in the News
If you search Google News for the words "school" and "security", the search engine will return millions of results. There are stories about many cities, states, and school districts working on plans and funding to increase the safety and security of their schools. There are reports about incidents at schools, and products that may help improve security. It's tough to wade through it all. The following articles address the topic with a slightly different focus.
School Security After Sandy Hook
Saturday, December 14th, marked the one-year anniversary of the senseless violence that took the lives of 20 children and 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I don't think there's any doubt that the tragedy has resulted in increased focus on the security of our schools.
Sandy Hook Elementary School Report Released
The Connecticut State's Attorney has released a report on the December 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut (full report available here). Although it details the actions of the shooter, Adam Lanza, there are still many unanswered questions.
FF: Lockdown
Eric Paul of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me these photos of another school lockdown product that a local school was using. The lock is kept locked, and the add-on product keeps the latchbolt retracted until there's an emergency and the teacher needs to lock the door. This product can not be used on fire doors, which need to latch. Have any of you ever seen or used this product? Comments?
RPM Special Edition on School Violence
This week, two teachers have been killed on school grounds, allegedly by students. Michael Landsberry, a teacher from Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, and Colleen Ritzer, a teacher at Danvers High School in Danvers, Massachusetts, are remembered as wonderful teachers, beloved by their students and colleagues. Yesterday an 11-year-old boy brought several knives, a gun, and 400 rounds of ammunition to Frontier Middle School in Vancouver, Washington. Two weeks ago, an ROTC student in uniform brought a gun into Hickman Mills Junior High School in Kansas City, Missouri, even though the school was equipped with metal detectors. Thankfully, noone was injured in either of those cases.
Should teachers be trained to fight back?
After yesterday's tragedy at the Sparks Middle School in Nevada, some reports have stated that implementing physical security for schools is not enough. From a column in today's edition of USA Today...
More News
It's one of my favorite times of the year..."Back to School!", and school security is all over the news. How do we keep our kids safe at school?
Recent News
Georgia school shooting: A hero emerges - Christian Science Monitor
School Security Seminars with Paul Timm
Last month I mentioned a PBS special on school security called The Path to Violence. This show is currently available on PBS.org for online viewing (embedded below). Paul Timm is a board certified Physical Security Professional (PSP), the president of RETA Security, Inc., and one of the nation's leading experts in school and campus safety, and appears in this PBS special as well as one of the news stories I posted previously.