Secured School Safety Grant (SSSG) Program through IDHS makes an impact!

The month of June was a busy one at St. John’s Lutheran School with several contractors working to complete security upgrades that will make an immediate impact on the safety of our students, faculty and staff.  We have always planned well for student safety and worked on preparing our school for emergencies through various drills (e.g. fire, active shooter, tornado), but our security infrastructure was lacking.

KEYLESS ENTRY

In 1968 when our school building was constructed, locks on school doors were designed to secure the building when it was not in use. Locks kept burglars and others out of the building. Fast forward to 2023 when security is focused on the safety of school children, teachers and staff when they are at school. Over the last several years, events at schools across the country have highlighted the the need to continually improve school security.

Tech Centric Solutions and a locksmith contractor have completed the initial phases of bringing keyless access to our buildings. The first step, keyless entry to the building, is now installed and operational. Since the keyways have all been changed, your existing exterior door keys will no longer function

A keypad and card reader is located at most locations around the building to provide for easy access. For exterior doors there were only a very few keys made, designed only for emergency use. The keyless entry system makes use of a battery backup, so the system should continue to work in the midst of a limited power outage. The pastor, principal, and trustees have a master key, and another is in the “Knox box” located at Door #2 for the Fire Department.

We plan to expand keyless access to interior doors. Initially the focus will be on classrooms, the library and offices. Over a period of years we hope to get almost every door in the school building and several exterior doors in the church building to open with the same keycards. The access control system allows us to customize access for each card holder and then cancel that access as required (employee termination, inappropriate use, etc.)

WINDOW FILM

National Glazing Systems has applied Security film at several entry points and on the window “walls” for our preschool classroom. This film helps to slow down an intruder that is working to gain access by breaking a window. Our windows would likely shatter when a hard object is used or a gun is fired at the window, allowing nearly immediate access. Security film helps hold the glass together a bit like what happens with a car windshield. The window will break into pieces but the film will hold the pieces in place and structural glazing (essentially heavy-duty caulk) holds the entire piece of glass to the frame. In the even to an intruder minutes can mean the difference between keeping students safe and placing them at risk.

The mirror film on the preschool classroom doors and windows (as well as Door #5 into the space used by Eagle Care) makes it impossible to see INTO the room from the exterior of the building, while students and teachers can easily see the outside.

We plan to expand the use of security film to interior spaces, especially in rooms where students gather in groups (e.g. cafeteria and library) and eventually to classroom sidelights and office windows.

SSSG PROGRAM

The Secured School Safety Grant (SSSG) program administered by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) provides a matching grant to St. John’s, reimbursing SJLC for a portion of the cost of these upgrades. In FY2023 we were awarded a $50,000 grant with a 50% match requirement ($25,000), bringing the total investment to $75,000. We have made a similar application for FY2024. If approved work on expanding keyless access to interior classrooms and the library as well as office suites could begin yet the fall.

We also hope to replace the double door into the hallway that separates the preschool room from the rest of the school. The door does not close completely now and cannot be locked since it is a “double-egress” door (a panic bar is on one door going into the space and the other door coming out). Since this is not required by fire codes, we hope to secure funding to replace this door also with one that can be locked, securing the preschool classroom.

FUTURE PROJECTS

Since the SSSG program is available each year, in FY2025 we hope to expand keyless access throughout the building to include the gymnasium, kitchen cafeteria and other even some storage rooms. Once we better secure these access points we can actually provide more customized access to pastors, faculty, staff and even non-members who may need temporary access (e.g. delivery personnel, contractors, etc.)