Stricter school security has been established this January in order to make Central a “safer environment,” according to hallway supervisor Mrs. Jan Hall.
Building access will be restricted in the morning, as adults will be expected to present some form of identification before entering. Prior to 6:45 a.m., student access will be limited to the pool entrance. The main entrance and parking lot entrance will be opened after 6:45 a.m. and will be open for visitors who present a driver’s license or passport to security.
“We try to address various supervision issues and think of our school as a whole when assessing possible security procedures. We want to make the school as safe as possible,” Mrs. Hall said.
Central is not the only school addressing “supervision issues” and ramping up school security policy. USA Today reported that school districts in Kansas have hired armed security guards in response to the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn. that left 20 students and six members of the staff dead. Furthermore, according to ABC2 News, every school in Baltimore County, Maryland will be adding cameras to its schools to increase school security.
At Central, one goal of the new policies is to prevent strangers from entering the school through locked doors. According to Mrs. Hall, the most common way that adults enter the building without checking in occurs when students let them in through locked doors. “Some students think it is funny to let someone in,” Mrs. Hall said. “They go ha-ha and don’t think too much about what they are doing. It takes a while for the door to close and who knows how many adults can then get into the school without first going through security.”
David Dulce, senior, is used to witnessing students open locked doors. “I probably see students letting other students or adults into the building a couple times a week,” Dulce said. “They see a person waiting outside asking to be let in, so they open the locked doors for them without really thinking about it.”
So far, Central’s security has been successful in preventing dangerous individuals from entering the school premises. “Thankfully, Hinsdale has never experienced any types of school break-ins or breaches,” Mrs. Hall said “We continue to be a safe school.”
