October 27, 2000

To: The Shrewsbury School Committee

From: Anthony J. Bent

Re: School Safety Audits

Background

Safety audits of all Shrewsbury schools were conducted in October and November of last year in response to the acts of student violence that have been perpetrated upon public schools in recent years. The audits were conducted by Chief Wayne Sampson of the Police Department, Chief George Duhamel of the Fire Department, Mr. Robert Cox, the Superintendent of Public Buildings, Lt. Daniel Sklut of the Police Department, and Mr. Patrick Collins and Dr. Anthony Bent, both of the School Department. The principal, and in some cases, an assistant principal, joined the team as it walked through each building. (Specific items that relate to mechanical, electrical, and other operating systems are being referred directly to Mr. Cox and are not part of this report. This report deals primarily with issues that relate to school security from the perspective of student and adult violence.)

The "Inside" Issue

We know that the best possible approach to safe schools for students and staff involves the establishment of strong school cultures in which respect, participation, and communication are the hallmarks. Much of the professional literature confirms that prevention measures such as metal detectors, increased police presence, locker searches, and student identification cards do little to prevent incidents such as the tragedy at Colombine High School (Phi Delta Kappan, March 2000). A recent NBC report (October 22, 2000 by Pete Williams) highlighted the activities of the Secret Service in analyzing 37 cases of school violence. The common patterns associated with the violence are the following:

• Most of the students (boys) felt a grievance against the school over time, often because they were bullied.
• Almost all of the students thought out their attack far in advance.
• Most of the time, the students told other students about what they were planning to do.
• The students almost never told an adult.
• Most of the time, the students had done something previously to cause local school or police authorities to be concerned.

The best prevention regarding student violence at school is to do what the Shrewsbury Public Schools are doing each day. The schools are concentrating their efforts on creating healthy climates in which people feel respected, safe, and valued:

• Principals set a tone of respect and participation in each building.
• Programs like the Responsive Classroom foster culture building in each K-8 classroom through such strategies as morning meeting.
• Student Councils are active in four elementary schools, the Middle School, and the High School.
• Students participate in important school functions as often as possible: reading the morning announcements, leading all-school meetings, serving on school councils (MS and HS), and assisting in searches for new teachers.

All of the above is to remind us all that our best and most important work in this area must have to do with the value of the "democratic tradition" as manifested in the district's mission statement.

"The Outside Issue"

The Shrewsbury Public Schools must also take reasonable security precautions to prevent threats to schools from disaffected students and from the adults who enter the buildings with ill intent. Through the cooperation of Bob Cox and his staff, several areas of concern have been resolved since the tours last fall. All of the schools have implemented a number of security measures as simply a "common sense" approach to school life today. Those include the following:

• All schools have emergency evacuation and crisis plans. Each school will make sure that its plans are updated and shared with the Police and Fire Departments for input.
• Five schools, including the Parker Rd. facility, are connected to the emergency response alarm signal to the Fire Department. Paton and Spring St. will be connected. (Beal West is not connected.)
• Side and rear doors to each school are locked throughout the day.
• Visitors are requested to wear nametags. Each principal is reinforcing the need to confront those who do not have them (e.g., May I help you?).
• All principals know that they can obtain additional police surveillance and support whenever they make the request. We enjoy excellent relationships with the police department in this regard.
• All schools have complete, or near complete, intercom communications throughout the building. The areas in each building that are not in the intercom system have been listed for the awareness of main office staff.
• All schools have the capacity to use wireless communication when teachers and/or administrators are outside the building.
• Each school has a police liaison officer. We are currently discussing the parameters of such relationships.

School Analysis and Commentary

High School

This facility is the most difficult to secure because of the number of doors and the high volume of students and adults who enter and exit the building during the course of the school day. Kitchen areas and the shops are particularly difficult to monitor. Additionally, there are many staff members who possess keys, thus further complicating the security of the building.

The parking lot in a high school is always a problematical issue, without the presence of staff to monitor student activities. Currently, each vehicle is required to have a sticker identifying the vehicle and students in cars must have a pass from an administrator to be outside the building. Recommendations from the high school administration include increased police presence in the morning and at dismissal times. (Unfortunately, a grant for a police liaison officer for the middle/high school campus was not funded.) Security issues for the high school will be addressed by the new facility and the renovation of the school for middle school use.

New High School

The design and equipment for the new school are incorporating features to promote school security. Locations for cameras are in the school design, entry to the building will be through a card-reader system, only the administration will have master keys, security gates will close off "Main St." in two places, and emergency vehicles will be able to drive completely around the school. Further discussions will take place when the school actually opens in 2002.

Middle School

The entrance area to the Middle School has been improved twice within the last year. In advance of the opening of the 1999-2000 school year, a window was cut in the foyer area, and a secretary assigned to the area to allow for visual contact with people entering the building. During the course of the year, it was determined that the window was too small for adequate supervision. With the support of Mr. Cox, a larger window and additional lighting were installed. In addition to the increased security, the middle school foyer is a much more attractive welcome to those who visit the school.

As is the case with the High School, the Middle School's size and use make supervision difficult. At the same time, the Middle School is taking all reasonable precautions to protect both students and staff.

Floral St. School

The Floral St. School, as the newest of our facilities, has the fewest problems in this area. The school has good visual access at the front entrance, video monitor capacity, new doors that lock securely, and an excellent intercom system.

Traffic congestion is an issue at the school because of the student population and parent pick arrangements but there is a system in place to deal with the issue. Since the time of the original visit last fall, a four-way stop has been added (as requested) at Whippoorwill Drive and Honeysuckle Drive.

Spring St. School

A variety of changes have occurred at Spring St. School since the fall. New front doors have been installed and an observation mirror and video camera provide visual contact for anyone entering the school. There is also a new configuration for pedestrian and vehicular traffic as a result of the addition of four modular classrooms. The cafeteria and adjoining offices are not currently connected to the intercom system.

Coolidge School

Coolidge is a large elementary school (22 classrooms) with very limited physical space surrounding the school. Consequently, pedestrian and vehicular traffic are ongoing issues there. Recently, yellow lines have been added to the sidewalk in the bus loading area on May St. and along the walkway from the sidewalk to the pavement on the Florence St. side of the school.

Paton School

Paton School is a more easily monitored school because it has fewer entrances and exits and the Main office has good visual contact to the front doors. Problem areas are the need for more lighting at door entrances, additional signage (Do Not Enter for lower playground area) and greater vigilance in replacing outdoor light bulbs. The principal will, again, be reviewing traffic patterns at the school.

Beal

Beal is the oldest of the operating school facilities but has substantial capacity to provide a high level of security for the children. The most important factor in this regard is the high ratio of staff to students in the school. There are two adults for each kindergarten classroom. Eight instructional aides for kindergarten, three for the first grades, and child-specific aides support the classroom teachers, specialists, and administrators, and provide constant vigilance throughout the building.

A warrant article at town meeting will request funds to install an elevator, lower the ceiling in the gymnasium, and improve the traffic flow around the school.

Beal West

Beal West also features a substantial adult presence due to the staff who support full-day kindergarten and the ABA students who are there. All doors are locked at this facility, including the front door. The most recent fire drill at Beal revealed that the facility was vacated in less than one minute.

Parker Rd. Preschool

Security at this facility is more problematical because of it multiple uses. SPAC personnel share the building with the school department and have easy access to the classroom areas since they share the same entrance and hallway. A security review, given the changes in building use from last year, will need to be done this year.

Summary and Conclusion

We are very fortunate to enjoy a high level of cooperation among town departments in Shrewsbury. Since the visits last fall, Mr. Cox, as well as the highway department, have taken action on a variety of requests made by principals. The list below is just a sample of what has already been done. Safety concerns such as securing equipment and lighting are being dealt with by Mr. Collins and Mr. Cox and are not listed in this report.

• Stop signs have been added at a busy intersection in the Floral St. neighborhood.
• Sidewalk lines have been painted at Coolidge School.
• A larger window and more lighting have been installed at the Middle School entrance.
• A camera and video monitor have been installed at Spring St. School.
• A new front door and classroom locks have been provided at Beal.

The use of schools during the evenings, weekends, and summers by non-school groups tends to diminish security. However, this is what we will do this year:

• Review procedures with our faculties to ensure that they are confronting those in the building who do not have identification.
• Connect Paton and Spring St. Schools to the alarm monitor system.
• Review with Mr. Cox the possibility of completing intercom communications throughout each building.
• Promote with principals the increased use of radios for staff when students are outside the building.
• Study our security arrangements at Parker Rd.
• Discuss security issues with the architect as we begin the process to renovate the existing high school for use as a second middle school.
• Discuss police presence for Middle and High School at student arrival and dismissal.
• Review the use and distribution of keys to staff in each school.

In conclusion, the information above represents the effort and commitment of many public officials to provide a safe and secure environment for the students in our schools. We must continue to work to make our schools safe places in terms of the physical plant, threats from disaffected students, and violence from disturbed adults. While there can be no guarantees in this area, it is the commitment of the school district to keep this issue "on the front burner."