School districts beef up security as students head back to class
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Central Greene School District鈥檚 Director of Academic Accountability and Innovation Sean VanEman plays the role of the 鈥渟hooter鈥� during ALICE active shooter training at Waynesburg Central High School. Teachers were armed with balls to use as tools to distract and overwhelm the attacker.
Central Greene School District Resource Officer Andrew Zimmer shows local first responders the library of Waynesburg Central Elementary School.
Jon Andreassi
Zimmer points out entrances to the high school while taking first responders on a tour of the campus.
Zimmer shows local police what a typical classroom looks like at Waynesburg Central High School.
Zimmer walks first responders through the layout of the campus in front of Waynesburg Central High School. (Photos by Jon Andreassi)
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Standing before the faculty of Central Greene School District, Dr. Kevin Monaghan acknowledged they were starting the school year on a somber note.
The superintendent was preparing teachers to go through ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) active shooter training on their first in-service day.
鈥淪afety is our No. 1 priority,鈥� Monaghan told the staff last week. 鈥淭hat fact is, this needs to happen. You need to feel safe. When you feel safe, your kids feel safe.鈥�
ALICE has become commonplace in school districts across the country as a way to prepare both teachers and students for the worst-case scenarios. The training program tries to help teachers decide whether to evacuate their students or lock down in their classrooms, as well as how to confuse, overwhelm and overpower an active shooter.
鈥淔ive minutes,鈥� Andrew Zimmer, Central Greene鈥檚 school resource officer, told the teachers gathered at Waynesburg Central High School.
That is the average time an active shooter situation will last, and the time teachers and students have to make count.
Zimmer said the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 was an anomaly. That day, a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School while it took police more than 70 minutes to breach the classroom where students were trapped with the attacker.
The police response to the Uvalde shooting has been the subject of intense criticism, and districts have spent the summer bolstering their security measures.
While Trinity Area School District also prioritizes active shooter training with faculty and students, it also has its own police force consisting of nine armed officers.
鈥淭here is always a police officer assigned to each building,鈥� said Superintendent Dr. Michael Lucas. 鈥淢ost of them have over 20 years experience in policing.鈥�
The police force has been in place for about three years. This year, those officers will have extra tools to monitor the comings and goings in district buildings.
鈥淲e鈥檙e putting new alerts on all doors, at the middle school specifically. When a door is opened, an alert immediately goes to the officer,鈥� Lucas said.
He added that they have adjusted their procedures for visitor check-ins, and that visitors will need to be accompanied with someone or have a prior appointment.
In Uvalde, much controversy stemmed from the fact that the district police chief, who has since been fired, did not have keys to enter the classroom.
That is not a mistake Central Greene School District is trying to make.
While teachers went through ALICE training scenarios, Zimmer gave first responders from the Greene County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, state police, and Greene County Emergency Management a tour of the campus at Waynesburg Central High School and Elementary School.
Zimmer showed them all the ways in or out, and they discussed potential staging areas in the event of an incident.
Crucially, Zimmer provided each agency with a master key and a fob that unlocks several doors between both buildings.
It was also an opportunity for local law enforcement to locate potential weak points in security and offer suggestions to the district.
鈥淭hey live this, and they see it daily. Sometimes when you鈥檙e too close to something, you鈥檙e not always seeing the whole picture. Our school district, we look to improve each and every day in every area,鈥� Monaghan said.
According to Monaghan, Central Greene is hoping that over the Christmas break seventh- and eighth-graders will move from the middle school into the high school.
鈥淏y consolidating our campus, this helps us with our school safety plan. Being able to maintain one campus, being able to have eyes on almost every square foot of this campus,鈥� Monoghan said.
Though Zimmer is their lone school resource officer, they are in close proximity to local law enforcement. The Waynesburg state police barracks, for example, is just minutes from the campus.
That is not the case with every school district.
At Trinity, many of the communities in the district, such as North Franklin and Canton townships, do not have local police departments and rely on state police.
鈥淲e feel the need to have our own police department just because of the lack of local resources,鈥� Lucas said.
South Strabane and state police both have master keys to district buildings, and they have their own active shooter training within the buildings.
For a rural district such as Jefferson-Morgan School District, Uvalde spurred the hire of an additional school resource officer.
鈥淲e had been talking about it for the past couple of years, but then when the incident in Uvalde happened, our school board said we are adding another officer,鈥� said Superintendent Brandon Robinson.
In 2019 the district hired retired state trooper Brian Shuba. They will now be able to have an armed officer at both the high school and elementary school. Robinson explained that the district has taken several additional measures to make their campus secure.
鈥淲e have a brand-new school surveillance systems. That happened last year,鈥� Robinson said, adding that there are interior and exterior cameras at the buildings. 鈥淲e have license plate reading cameras in case we would have to get license plate information.鈥�
Many of Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 exterior doors have been replaced with doors that do not have handles on the outside. Some entrances are also accessible electronically with a key fob.
According to Robinson, foot traffic into the buildings is being limited by having drop boxes in case a parent needs to drop off lunch or something else their child forgot. The campus is also restricted during school hours, and even joggers are asked to stay off the grounds.
Uvalde also pushed the Brownsville Area School District into action.
The district has six security guards who work under the director of security. Superintendent Dr. Keith Hartbauer said they have recently started the process of getting the guards certified to carry firearms, with four expected to be certified in a week or so.
鈥淭here was always talk that we had about it,鈥� Hartbauer said, adding that Uvalde pushed the district forward. 鈥淚 think that opened up some eyes and that process got expedited, if you will.鈥�
Brownsville has also gone beyond arming their guards to improve security. According to Hartbauer, the district has used federal COVID-19 funding to make several changes.
That includes limiting access to a single entry and exit point, and adding a vestibule where guests will wait to be buzzed in.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the process of updating all of our surveillance cameras. Also, because of Texas and some of the things we鈥檝e learned, we鈥檙e increasing the protective equipment,鈥� Hartbauer said.
They are also making in investment in mental health services. According to Hartbauer, the district has entered into a partnership with Chestnut Ridge Counseling Services to hire a therapist and two behavioral specialists.
鈥淗opefully, a lot of that stuff can be caught early on with the properly trained people in place,鈥� Hartbauer said.