A series of articles on why we do what we do here at St. John’s.

Securing People instead of Vacant Buildings

In the last decade or so schools of every type and description have begun to re-think school security, thinking less of how to secure a vacant building and more about how to secure the people who are using the building: students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Our school building is not unlike dozens of other school buildings constructed in the late 1960s; a central office with classrooms radiating in two directions with an entrance located in the middle. Except the primary entrance isn’t near the parking lot. Rather, it is at the end of a long corridor, past three classrooms and several other rooms where students gather throughout the day.

In the past several years, leaders have been working to better secure the people using our building, mostly during the school day, but also when school is not in session. Our goal has actually been to INCREASE access to those who should be in the building while limiting access to others.

The first effort, many years ago, was to install a video intercom system which gave office staff (in both the church and school) the ability to respond to a visitor at one of two primary entrances. (Actually, after many years this system has begun to fail, and we are looking for a suitable replacement.)

Other efforts have been undertaken in recent years: 

• Exterior Entry: Each of the exterior entrances for the school are now part of a keyless access system (7 of our 11 exterior entrances have card readers/keypads).
• Bullet-resistant Glass Film: a shatter-resistant film has been applied to many windows and doors on the exterior of the building. 
• Interior Access: Offices and each classroom, including our library, are now a part of the keyless access system.
• Classroom Door Automation: Classrooms doors (and the library) now include magnetic hold opens and closers, making it easier to keep the door open at the beginning and end of the day (and when not in use by students), and keeping it closed whenever students are in the classroom.
• Preschool Access: the primary interior access to the preschool and eagle care areas has been upgraded (the door functions well and was added to the keyless access system).
• Automated Gate Access: A new retractable gate helps limit access to the rear parking lots which are also often used as play areas for students (and guests after school hours).
• Gymnasium Access: this summer two interior gymnasium doors were also added to the keyless access, effectively securing the entire gymnasium “addition,” which includes the areas used by our preschool and eagle care.
• IP Security Cameras: A new security camera system which makes use of the campus-wide computer network includes multiple IP Cameras that allow us to monitor (and record) activity in vulnerable areas.

The net result of these numerous improvements has actually enabled us to INCREASE access to our building to those who have a legitimate need to be in our facilities, while better securing our students.

• Faculty and staff and many leaders have 24/7 access to the school building at most points of entry.
• Visitors, including those from other schools for athletic events, have an access code for one door that provides access for a limited amount of time.
• People who no longer require access are more easily eliminated from the access control system (especially as compared to keys which can be easily copied).
• There are now only FIVE keys to the building, providing access to the Pastor, Principal, a Trustee, and the Fire Department (in the case of an emergency). Even the  Custodian’s keyed access is limited.

Many of these improvements have been funded in part by Secured School Safety Grants provided through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.  In the past three years St. John’s has received $136,000 in grants and provided approximately $55,000 in matching funds to pay the cost of these improvements. Numerous volunteer hours have helped expand the extent of these improvements to bring the value of this investment to at least $350,000 over the past three years.

IDHS has recently awarded St. John’s a $32,000 grant to expand access controls to our school’s cafeteria (designed to secure the room when in use by students). We must, however, provide $8,000 in “matching funds” to access these grant funds. Decisions on these projects will be made later this school year and will depend on the availability of these funds.

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Next month: The first in a new series, “How Do We Use Your Offerings: Salary and Benefits”