Plan B?: Security Equity for Schools
The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, unless the bad guy gets the drop on the good guy. Then choose Plan B. What? No Plan B?
To enter a sports arena, security frisks fans for bottled water.
To enter a school, a maniac strolls in with an AR-15.
Security equity now.
In memory of the Robb Elementary School (Ulvalde, Texas) mass shooting victims
Keep Every Door Locked At All Times … and other half truths
The other half of the truth, and key security element, is the conversation with the teachers and staff regarding what is working and what is not. This is opposed to superimposing slogans, such as “Keep every door locked at all times.” While slogans feel right and just, the reality emerges only through dialogue with stakeholders.
While Smith Elementary School’s [pseudonym] 250 page security manual touts deadbolted windows and doors, no one mentions the moldy air conditioning system that should have been replaced six years ago. Staff and teachers have complained about aggravated allergies and sweltering conditions, but the district has not been responsive to the teachers’ complaints. So, the teachers open doors and windows to relieve allergic or asthmatic conditions and create a condition where learning is possible.
The district office prides itself in the quarterly lockdown drills at Smith Elementary, as teachers shout, “Hide under your desk!” and the principal rattles locked doors. But the antiquated locks require a key and the teacher to find the key in the bottom of a purse, stand exposed to an intruder in the hallway, lock the door, then reenter the classroom. One misplaced key means that door remains unlocked.
If the door is unlocked and a school lockdown occurs,
From “Door Locking Options in Schools”
however, the teacher must open the door, step into the
hallway, lock the door, step back inside the classroom,
and close the door ― a time-consuming process with
a potentially dangerous exposure. One way around
this dilemma is to keep the door latch “locked” at all
times, whether the door is open or closed. But this
allows students in unsupervised classrooms to lock
others out, simply by shutting the door.
School security in dialogue with staff is like pouring sidewalks at a college. Don’t pour the sidewalks first. Plant the grass and watch where the students have worn the grass in paths of natural travel. Then pour the sidewalks over the paths.
The Paths to Security,
Pastor Jim