Renovations to the middle school, which houses the sixth through eighth grades, include improved classrooms and flexible working spaces. The renovations also put the entire campus under one roof and added a secure entrance and access controls.
“If we had an assailant that wanted to come in and gain entry by using a gun, the bullet will come through but the person will not be able to break the glass,” Crothersville High School Principal Adam Robinson told Fox 59.
The new glass should be installed during the summer and the project should be finished by the beginning of the next school year, according to Jason Edelheit, director of operations and finance for District 35.
According to St. Lucie Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Gent, schools now have a single entrance point, and larger campuses have changed the way students access the campus. All fences are being raised to at least 6 feet high and visitor protocol stricter.
"[…] We're always looking for ways that we can increase the difficulty and increase the amount of time that it might take someone to breach those areas, so by putting this coating on those glass surfaces, it does provide a more secure area,", Assistant Superintendent Andy True said.
“There’s no question that the process has strengthened the planning and the person-to-person relationships of all agencies that would be involved in school safety and security,” said Paul Haley, emergency management coordinator for Trenton Public Schools.
“These new doors are heavy, they’re solid, they’re fire-rated and the windows are security glass,” Principal Jordan Engle said.
"In some of these older schools, like our high school was built in 1934, it is a beautiful building, but back in 1934, a lot of our doors were not really built at the time when safety and security was probably at the foremost of someone's attention,” Superintendent Susan Johnson said.
We've collected the top Campus Security & Life Safety stories published in our print issues this year.
- By Jessica Davis, Sydny Shepard
The Shepherd Police Department recently accepted a grant of more than $82,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which will go toward putting trauma kits in 540 Isabella County classrooms.