Schools add new security measures

Source: The Frederick News-Post, Md.儲存Aug. 21--Doors were closed and locked after students walked inside Frederick County schools Monday to start the first day of the new school year.The only way a person can gain access to a school's front entrance is by pressing a buzzer and announcing their identity.The new entry system is one of several new security measures added to Frederick County schools in light of last year's massacre at a Newtown, Conn., school, where a man entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and gunned down 26 -- including 20 children -- before taking his own life.The shooting spurred Frederick County's school system to install buzzer entryways and make other upgrades before the start of the school year.Cliff Cornwell, Frederick County Public Schools security coordinator, said the buzzers, more surveillance cameras, new radios and additional training requirements are all part of the school system's efforts to keep a clean safety record."We re-wrote the emergency management plan along with local plans at each school due to the events in Connecticut," Cornwell said. "We're sending all administrators through incident command training. We wanted everyone to get on the same page."The security upgrades came from state and federal emergency management grants.Buzzers are now in all schools, and some schools are equipped with additional outside security cameras.Twenty schools received redesigned front entryways that position visitors directly to the front offices to sign in, FCPS spokesman Michael Doerrer said.Cornwell said administrators are told to check side doors for safety."We want to make sure nobody is propping doors open for convenience," he said.About 60 schools will soon receive new emergency mass notification alert systems called AlertUs that can emit tones and lights and have scrolling alert messages on devices placed in front offices, Cornwell said.The school system also improved its communications with new radios.Digital ra新蒲崗迷你倉ios were installed in every school bus, and 1,500 hand-held radios were placed throughout schools so more staff members can receive school system emergencies or public notices.Some bus routes in previous years had lost contact with school system officials, depending on their locations.Digital radios will allow for better communication between bus drivers and school officials, even in "dark areas" that proved spotty and disruptive, officials said.The school system is also rolling out "tabletop" training requirements for all administrators.Tabletop training involves discussion sessions with staff to present scenarios and see how principals and other school officials would handle such emergencies. The in-service training will take place in October.The gunman from the Newtown massacre shot through a front glass window to gain access to the building, according to media reports."We do have large glass areas. All schools have a lot of glass," Cornwell said. "I've had parents ask about bullet-proof glass, but I've had others ask about how students would get out of the building if windows couldn't be broken. ... What it comes down to is that the cost would be astronomical."Julie Marker, the president of the PTA Council of Frederick County, said there's only so much that can be done and she trusts that FCPS is "doing everything in their power to keep their kids safe.""I think we all saw from Sandy Hook that if somebody wants to get in, they're going to get in, but certainly doing nothing is not (the) best way to react," she said.Cornwell said the upgrades that have been put in place are safety measures that the school system can afford to do now."We're trying to do what we can now to strengthen the perimeters," he said.Follow Daniel J. Gross on Twitter: @DanielJGrossCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) Visit The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) at .fredericknewspost.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage