A sobering reflection of modern society is that any discussion of new school buildings is incomplete without mention of safety and security measures.
At the new Annandale Elementary, school officials hope they have struck the right balance between taking prudent precautions and fostering fear in students through ever-present security measures.
"There is absolutely no way to totally prevent events. To be prepared for events, and to react to them, that can be done and is being done here," said Superintendent Steve Niklaus. "There is a certain point where it’s too much. We don’t want kids to live in fear. We want them to be prepared, but not feel like they’re in a high risk zone.
"I think we’ve found the point of reason, which is to lock all exterior doors, have significant, continuous live monitoring of what’s happening inside, and then having people work with kids to make connections, so we are in tune to whether there are issues."
Annandale Police Chief Jeff Herr said the building has positive features from a safety standpoint.
"It’s great. I’m very pleased with the new building, the security measures and the controlled access, the accessibility for us as police," he said. "The engineering that goes into schools now is obviously a lot different from past years due to security interests and efforts to keep our kids safe. I’m very pleased with the final outcome."
Herr acknowledged that, given his profession, safety is an overriding concern, but he said his preference would be for a School Resource Officer to be posted in the schools.
That position was cut about five years ago due to budget constraints.
"We’d like to have the liaison, and I know Jeff would as well. But it becomes a cost matter," said Niklaus. "Are you going to spend it on law enforcement or instruction? We weigh on the side of instruction."
Niklaus emphasized the importance of relationships between students and staff.
"The greatest security you can have is staff members who are connected to the kids they work with," he said. "Almost all of the significant events that have occurred, there have been signals and warnings – except at Sandy Hook. That one was just out of the blue. But for the majority of school violence, there are signs."
Secure entrances
In all cases, visitors to the building will need to stop between the exterior and interior doors of the main entrance and buzz in to the office. A full length window allows office staff a good view of visitors, and a voice system allows staff to greet visitors and hear the reason they are at the school before unlocking an interior door.
Office staff will also screen visitors at the Community Education entrance, and parents coming to pick up their kids from Cardinal Kids Club will have a numerical code to enter to obtain access through that door.
Other than those two entrances, all exterior doors are locked, and if there is suspicious activity a switch in the main office allows all doors to be locked immediately.
Teachers and staff with have key cards, which is now standard at many schools and allows for easy adjustments if a staff key is lost.
In addition, security cameras covering the main entrances and hallways allow not only playback to see past events, but can provide live feeds to law enforcement if a dangerous situation is happening in real time. Even responding officers could see what they are about to encounter by checking smart phones or tablets before entering the building.
Herr said that, depending on the severity of the situation, first responders would likely not have time to view a video feed, but the capability is there. One might suppose that officers in a more secure location could monitor the cameras and relay any relevant information to actively responding officers if necessary.
"That camera system is huge for law enforcement," said Niklaus. "If something is happening, they don’t have to come back and look at what happened, they have live feeds going to them. They can watch from their vehicle, or offices, so that’s a real plus for us."
Drills and training
The Annandale Police Department has conducted training sessions with school staff for various scenarios, including active shooter events, and Niklaus said the district has a strong relationship with local law enforcement.
Niklaus said lockdown training, as well as drills for other events like fires or tornadoes, will take place this fall so that procedures are refreshed for a new space. Students will be taught the necessary safety procedures, no matter how difficult it might be to contemplate situations like a school shooter.
"We made the decision last year to emphasize security and involve kids with security. It’s always delicate at this age, but the age of total innocence is gone because of how public some of the dark events that have happened are," said Niklaus. "So we made decisions to include kids in this, but under the bigger umbrella of general security and safety, whether it’s a lockdown, fire drill or tornado. All of that is a high priority."
Herr said the district has good safety plans that have been updated for the new building, and he has been through the school with administration to help update those plans.
While the proper level of school security has become a debate around the country in the wake of recent violence, Herr said the school’s basic reactive procedures are sound.
"It’s so important for us to have a plan, not only in schools but in any situation. You have to stick to the plan, and they have a good plan at the school," he said.