The challenge of securing schools today is truly daunting for many, as it not only requires proper funding but also buy-in from many people — the superintendent and other school officials down to the teachers, parents and students — who all want to maintain a good setting for learning while ensuring the utmost safety. The incident earlier this year where the Oklahoma principal was shot subduing a former student who had entered the school with a gun drives home the need for improved security measures within our schools.
“I believe school security is moving toward a clearer recognition that access control is not just another system — it is a foundational component that makes almost everything else work,” says Guy Grace, K-12 National Security Program Manager for ASSA ABLOY, in our interview in the June issue. “PASS has said directly that access control systems are the backbone of a school or district’s physical security system, and that effective access control helps unify other technologies like video, alarms, and fire.”
As Grace points out, if you cannot control the opening, “you cannot fully control entry, delay intrusion, support lockdown, manage visitors, coordinate responder access, or make duress, panic alarms, mass notification, communication, and the rest of the life-safety environment function the way schools need it to.”
In our recent webcast on school security, the panel of experts talked about this very topic of providing access control in layers, giving schools more control in case of an emergency. Wayne Winton, owner, Tri County Locksmith Service and president of ALOA, says ideally schools should have locks and an access control system that can lock down immediately.
“Preferably something that can be locked down centrally by office personnel, if needed, and then they can cooperate with law enforcement to be able to give them access to certain areas or deny access to certain areas to basically keep everybody as safe as possible," he explains. “How can we access and allow them access to get to where they need to go to make sure everybody is safe along the way and along the path.”
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-Paul Ragusa
