Since the fall of 2014, schools in Stillwater have been improving the safety of both their staff and students. The high school is certainly no exception. Any student or visitor that arrives at the school after 7:40 a.m. will be met with a vast array of new danger detectors. This use of new technology allows the school to screen anyone who enters the campus. This process will be the deciding factor as to whether or not the visitor is a welcomed guest, or dangerous predator. The new system is almost certainly the most important factor in student and staff safety as far as any past district reform has been concerned.

The school has had a small guard shack at the entrance to the parking lot since its opening in 1993, but no greater changes have been made until this year.The most obvious change in security that has occurred at the school would be the fact that all doors but one are locked promptly at 7:40 a.m. This leaves only one way into the school: through the main office. All doors besides those at the front of the building have been locked at 7:40 a.m. in the past, but it was not until this school year that even the doors in front of the administration entrance have been locked. The door that remains unlocked on the far right of the main entrance now funnels any visitor into a newly constructed room where the visitor is met with further security protocols

Do you think these security precautions are necessary?

• Yes
• No
• They are adequate precautionary measures

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As soon as visitors enter into the small side room, they are asked for their license and the reason as to why they have come to the high school. This is the second step in the screening process and almost certainly the most crucial one. Once the staff member working at the attendance desk has received the driver’s license, it is used as a valid ID and it is then placed into a small machine that runs it through a background checking database to determine whether or not the person in question has anything in their past that the school should be suspicious about. A complete list of any offenses or criminal acts is then clearly shown for whomever is working at the attendance desk to view. This trial ensures that no registered criminals such as sexual predators make their way through the doors and into the main part of the building.

If an intruder attempted to get through the attendance office without signing in, the staff member on duty has the power to lock the doors out of the room with just the push of a button. As if the ability to lock the very large and heavy doors almost instantaneously is not enough, the doors are surrounded by security cameras so the office worker is able to view anybody who appears to be a potential threat long before they have even entered the building. If the attendance worker does in fact perceive danger, the doors are locked and the intruder is swiftly met by the school’s security guards or on duty police officer.

It is quite apparent that in the unlikely scenario the school does come under threat, a very well protected entryway will do everything imaginable to stop any individual who does not belong in the school. The new security systems throughout the Stillwater school district may have eaten a large chunk out of this year’s budget but when safety is concerned, there can really be no other option than to protect the students and staff that rely so heavily on the school for both jobs and educational opportunities.