It was a normal day for Bethel Park high schoolers on December 14, 2012. However, it was not a normal day for the elementary students that attended Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, as a tragic event shook the world off its foundation. Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult faculty members, which sparked a controversy over the safety of thousands of schools around the nation. Thousands of principals and administrators were asking themselves: is our security procedure put in place enough to protect the students?
Bethel Park High School’s procedure has evolved over the years. “Within the last fifteen years, there has always been a security procedure put in place within Bethel Park School District,” explained Dr. Jansante. “Now we are required to run a safety drill. Our lock down drill [that recently took place] was a result of one requirement, but more so when Sandy Hook occurred in Newtown, it really gave us any opportunity to look at our plan and it heightened everyone’s awareness.”
The happening of Sandy Hook really raised the eyebrows and opened the eyes of thousands of teachers and administrators involved in the educational system. Dr. J said, “It allowed school districts to look at their plan and see what needed updated, because every time there is a disaster, you learn from it.”
The drill requires all to respond as though an intruder has entered the school. The teacher turns off the lights, closes the blinds, locks the door, and covers the windows, while the students silently move to the back of the room, out of sight. The principals and police officers involved go around from door to door pounding on the door like a real intruder. However, the teacher waits until all is clear, until an authority announces that the procedure is over.
“Police departments have also been going through training on school safety. The approach is now the first respondent reacts to the situation rather than waiting for backup so to speak,” Dr. J noted.
The entire process is unified. The addition of Officer Modrak, as a School Resources Officer, provides extra security around the premises of the school. One, the school is now one building opposed to a campus style, which means more topnotch security needs to be activated and two Officer Modrak can carry a gun opposed to the other security guards in school.
Across the nation, it is not abnormal to see more and more police officers popping up in schools. In fact, police officers are becoming more prevalent to fasten the school’s security procedure and to add that extra boost of confidence to the students.
Furthermore, to break down the Black Hawk procedure as a whole, Dr. J’s role is that he’s the helm of the initial situation. In an event of a tragedy, once the law enforcement show up, then they take over. However, Dr. J would be part of a command center, which governs how the operations occur.
The teacher’s main focus is to protect themselves and their students. “Teachers take precautions by following the plan, but also use their best judgement along the way”, Dr. J explained. “There’s no scripted measures on how to account for every possible scenario, which means there is a professional judgment piece that would come in place that teachers would need to exercise based on the situation and timing.”
On another note, Dr. J brought attention to the Security Notices posted throughout the school. These signs are in conjunction with the Student Owned Technology Devices policy put in place.
About the policy, Dr. J said, “You are not permitted to audiotape, videotape, or take photos of anybody on School District property without permission from a classroom procedure [like utilizing a MacBook to make an iMovie]. For most purposes, this is all for educational purposes. This is a suspendable item and a level three violation. There really are ramifications when students post things on the Internet when they aren’t supposed to, depending on the scenario.”
Sometimes the law can even come into the mix. For example, if someone posts a picture of someone else on the Internet when they do not grant permission and it becomes a disturbance inside the classroom environment, then there is a nexus between school and the law enforcement; this means ramifications with the school district and police can become heavy and cause an inevitable burden on the offender.
More times than not, students will snap quick pictures of students at lunch or use the app called SnapChat to communicate with their friends in school. Dr. J said this all needs to stop, and he’s giving a warning to everyone to take their unwarranted pictures off Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. before it becomes an issue.
