SAHS voted 21st safest school in the metro area
Stillwater Area High School has been awarded with the 21st safest school in the Twin cities Metro Area. Assistant Principal Shelly Phernetton and Police Liaison Officer Lindsey Paradise have been taking necessary precautions to keep students safe.
After countless tragedies, SAHS has decided to add more safety to the school. Before 7:10 a.m students need a pass from a teacher or other administrative adult to get in also students are forced to enter the school in five different entrances with staff there to monitor them. This helps the administrators see if there is any issues or serious threats to the school.
Paradise said, “It’s just awareness and kids knowing the rules and what is expected.”
She believes with the countless practice lockdowns and various other safety procedures the students know what to do and when to do it. The staff has also been trained to deal with these emergencies.
With the addition of two part time security officers, SAHS now has 4 unarmed security officers to patrol the hallways.
“They are good to have as far as eyes always walking around the hallways,” Paradise said.
Per Mar security hires former military and law enforcement for their security staff. These officers can be frequently walking the halls and standing in the bathrooms.
“Our district has recognized and as do I the importance of maintaining a relationship with our local law enforcement,” Phernetton said. Schools with budgetary complications have looked into cutting funding for school resource officers because of the cost of them is too high. These schools are putting the safety and security of the students as a lower necessity as money.
There are people who have made it a focus of their jobs, to prioritize school safety for students.
— Shelly Phernetton
Niche.com listed Minnetonka as the 23rd safest school in the nation. The differences between Stillwater’s security and Minnetonka’s is prevention. A clear difference is a program named Tonka CARES. This group embraces the idea of self defense and even offers multiple drug support groups.
“There are people who have made it a focus of their jobs, to prioritize school safety for students,” Phernetton said.
This year, there have been a total of 65 school shootings. SAHS has made it a focal point to keep the students in the school and safe. The addition of the Per Mar security Stillwater now has constant eyes patrolling the hallways. Paradise is prepared to deal with a crisis and the students awareness will ultimately help the school in a tragedy happens.
My name is Joseph Devins and I am the Business Editor-In-Chief. I work as a host and server assistant at Lake Elmo Inn. In my free time I enjoy working...
Zachary Johnson • Jan 7, 2019 at 8:18 am
Great work Joesph! I like how the reader knows what their expecting in the article just from the title, keep it up this was very well written!
Skyler Schreiber • Jan 4, 2019 at 8:16 am
The title of this article is very comforting let alone the entire story. The quotes were very strong and I think you picked the perfect people to interview although getting students input on their opinions about being the 21st safest school would be cool. Overall great article!
Tristan Smith • Jan 4, 2019 at 7:41 am
This article is very informative. It’s nice to hear about the steps that our school is taking to make the school more safe for all of the students. I really like the links that provided additional context to how are schools safety efforts compare to other schools. I would like to have heard more about the 65 schools shootings. You did not say where they were and in what states. Also, I would be interested in what other safety issues happen in schools other than school shootings. Over all a very informative article. It left me asking more questions and thinking more about school safety.
Nathaniel Willius • Jan 3, 2019 at 7:28 pm
There is a great balance of fact and quote paragraphs as well as an overall nice flow. I can tell you did a lot of research. Nice job!
Ashlynn O'Connor • Jan 3, 2019 at 5:32 pm
This article is great because its very informative and strait to the point. Its a very news worthy piece, and I love how it gets strait to the point and has great claims and evidence. There is very reliable sources which are great for stories. I really appreciate the thought the writer put in for this. A very great article.
Elise Truman • Jan 3, 2019 at 10:07 am
Totally engaging. Your research really shines through. I do think that your writing could be a little more condensed in places. I think that some student quotes would improve the feel of the article though, maybe about their thoughts on the 23rd safest thing?
Julia Bennett • Jan 3, 2019 at 9:50 am
The introduction grabs your attention to continue reading the article. The quotes from this story from police officers in our school show reliability which enhances the writing. I thought the facts and were very informative. Great article!
Ella Stratmann • Jan 2, 2019 at 11:07 pm
This article is very informational and very helpful to know about. It has very strong supports and claims. There are many good facts and good quotes too!
Ella Stratmann • Jan 2, 2019 at 11:06 pm
This article is very informational. It has very strong supports and claims. There are many good facts and good quotes too!
Ella Stratmann • Jan 2, 2019 at 11:05 pm
This article is very informational. It has very strong supports and claims. There are many good facts and good quotes too! great article!
Grace Wirkkala • Jan 2, 2019 at 10:41 pm
Some of the sentences are a bit clunky and could be worded better. I also think the quotes could have been more engaging, although that’s not necessarily the author’s fault! The use of links really helped with this article.
Nick Parent • Jan 2, 2019 at 9:57 am
Such a great story. I had know idea that we were ranked at 21 best. You have very reliable sources that we can believe and trust what your saying is true. As a reader it makes you feel better and safer about our school.
Gavan Townsend • Dec 21, 2018 at 9:23 am
What a great article! I love the use of reliable sources to back your claims, and make sure the reader can trust what you’re saying. Another great thing about this article is the well placed links that extend the experience for the reader.
John Franklin • Dec 21, 2018 at 8:32 am
Holy cow, Joe! This was a great article! It enveloped how er are able to have such a safe school, while also telling what other schools are doing. This is a sample of awesome writing, and I encourage you to keep up the good work
James Stahl • Dec 21, 2018 at 8:25 am
Good job on getting published this issue, Joe. It was very smart of you to reach out to the company that employs the security officers. Your links were good as well and provided plenty of extra information.
Q.C. • Dec 21, 2018 at 8:22 am
The article made excellent use of links, placing them at the best points to maximize their use instead of haphazardly throwing them in. Second paragraph has a long run on sentence that could be broken up. The first paragraph cuts to the point rather quickly, which isn’t a bad thing. It helps us to understand the article better than a flowery opening. Title should not have began with a verb, perhaps a more concise title could have been used. Great work regardless!
~Q.C.