JANUARY 10, 2023 | Last week’s incident at Lorain High School, while isolated and resolved quickly thanks to the extraordinary work of our Safety and Security Team and the Lorain Police Department, is not something we will ever easily forget. Instead, we continue to see it as a learning opportunity in the district so that we can evaluate policies, procedures, and processes and, when necessary, take additional steps.

 

We know that we can never say we can 100 percent prevent tragedy, but the goal is to make it very, very, VERY hard in Lorain City Schools. Our Director of Safety and Security, Reuben Figueroa, often uses the swiss cheese analogy when discussing school safety. The goal, he says, is to layer structures one on top of another to proactively prevent the worst from happening.

 

That brings us to Monday’s board meeting, during which board members unanimously supported two new school safety expenses.

 

Lorain Schools will purchase steel-enforced door locks for Lorain High School. The locks will be installed on all classroom and office doors, allowing a staff member to immediately prevent the door from opening in the event of a lockdown by stepping on a steel foot pad that will push a half-inch thick steel rod into the floor. The locks can secure a door from an unwanted intruder but can be opened by our safety team, police officers, or firefighters responding to an emergency.

 

It has been proven that in adrenaline-fueled situations, gross motor movements are much more effective than fine-motor movements, like putting a key into a lock. We will start installing locks at our high school because Lorain High is the only building that needs keys to lock classroom doors. As staff members move from classroom to classroom, every staff member must have tools to lock any door at any time.

 

It will take about a month to install the locks at Lorain High, and the district will move on it our elementary and middle schools after that time.

 

In addition to the new locks, Lorain Schools will contract with school security expert and consultant Ken Trump of National School Safety and Security Services to perform a comprehensive review of the district. Mr. Trump will complete an assessment of the district’s current procedures to ensure we are using best practices to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

 

Mr. Trump is a highly sought-after expert, and we know his expertise will only strengthen our district’s current safety plans.

 

The safety of our staff and your children remains our top priority, and we thank you for continuing to trust us with the care of your children.

 

Remember, we are all responsible for ensuring safety in our schools. So, if you see something, say something.

 

Thank you, and have a great afternoon.