Eisenhower High School Principal Jay Lehr said students' adjustments to the school's new security measures are not extreme, as most students have spent their entire secondary school careers undergoing security checks and scans.
“If anything, our kids are embracing it and appreciating it,” Lehr said of the new security measures being implemented at LPS' secondary campus, including new scanning systems and security fencing. Told. “We've had metal detectors for a long time, and now it doesn't make much of a difference. We've also beefed up security at schools this year. We've had very little backlash.”
Lawton secondary students have been living with security scans for about 20 years, but those systems have changed over the years as technology has evolved. In the simplest terms, a scanner means that every student enters the building through the main gate, and that student and all her belongings are scanned before entering the school. This year, those scanners were upgraded to weapon detection systems, replacing what Lehr called “just metal detectors.”
The new equipment allows school staff to process students more quickly, he said, noting that instead of scanning students and then checking their bags individually, the new scanners allow school staff to process students more quickly. He explained that people would be able to pass through with their backpacks on, and that everything would be scanned at the same time. Students will be tested individually only when the monitor goes off.
“It made the morning go faster,” Lehr said, adding that the school has had metal detectors for years, but “we've beefed them up.”
He said delays are not an issue most days, explaining that each campus is allowed to tweak the system to suit student needs. Eisenhower University has created an area where students can wait until the morning doors open and screening begins. Once completed, students can participate in class. The only real problem occurs when buses run late, Lehr said, noting that in such cases the system needs to be adjusted.
“Our timeline is dictated by student arrival rather than security measures,” he said, adding that it was a familiar process for students and that the new scanner did not require major adjustments. He explained that this was the reason.
Some of the changes are visitor-focused. The school is building a glass enclosure for visitors and a waiting area for people who don't work at Eisenhower or attend the school. Mr Lehr said the idea was to improve the management of people in the building.
“Only the people who should be in our building will be in the building,” he said.
He said the glass enclosure is important because it means visitors cannot enter the school unless they go into the school office and obtain an access pass. This means a vetting process that includes verifying credentials.
“We want to make sure that we're not sneaking in someone who doesn't need to be here,” Lehr said, adding that access isn't necessarily malicious — it's simply a matter of having an access control policy. I talked to a man I didn't know.
The biggest change will be security fencing, which has long been installed at elementary schools but will also be added to secondary campuses. Fencing has already been installed at Lawton High School and Central Middle School, and fencing will combine Lawton High School and Middle School into one campus, creating three secondary campuses in Lawton: Lawton High School and Central Middle School, and MacArthur High School and MacArthur Middle School. This is a pilot site for the project. Eisenhower High School and Eisenhower Middle School. Details are still being worked out, Lehr said.
“This is a work in progress,” he said, adding that it is not unusual. Even changing from standard metal detectors to weapon detection systems required adjustments.
In theory, fences restrict access to campuses, a safety measure already in place at schools across the country. However, what is a simple measure at the elementary school level becomes more complex at the high school level, where many students drive themselves to school at various times of the day. That raises questions about how to limit access points onto campus, Lehr said, explaining that a surveillance system is needed because students leave campus in private cars every hour. .
Lehr said he doesn't know the exact timeline of the process, but he does know that the fence will provide additional safety for students. That's why everything on campus is behind fences, including parking lots, athletic fields, and in Eisenhower's case, nearby parks. Eisenhower Elementary School. Lehr said that makes sense, explaining that the high school has staff who work at both secondary schools, with middle school students participating in some programs at the high school and high school students working with middle school and elementary school students.
Ultimately, Lehr hopes students and faculty will feel more at ease.
“The adults, the people employed here, in our conversations with them, we appreciate them,” he said, adding that staff are also part of the process by providing feedback and ideas. added. “They embrace it and appreciate it.”
