Elementary school "DOORS LOCKED" policy

[teacups]

Does your elementary school have a safety policy to keep all doors locked to the outside? (exit doors, bathroom doors, cafeteria doors, outside portable doors...) and what do you think about it?

 

[powellrj]

our schools started this policy several years ago and I think its a good one. Everyone needs to be buzzed through the front doors.

Sure I miss the come and go feeling I use to have when my kids first started attending our school almost 20 years ago, but its a different world we live in and whatever it takes to keep our kids save I'm all for. I will give up the warm, welcome feeling in exchange for safety.

I even have a problem with the school being open on election day and having people wandering the halls getting to the voting area. If you would have asked my when my kids first started I wouldn't have had a problem with it, but I do now.

 

[jgmklmhem]

Does your elementary school have a safety policy to keep all doors locked to the outside? (exit doors, bathroom doors, cafeteria doors, outside portable doors...) and what do you think about it?

Our school does not have that policy, but I see no problem with it if in an emergency the people inside the school can get out easily (So not the chained door policy of Morgan Freeman in Lean on Me). Even our doors at work for the most part are locked to the outside but just push the bar on the inside and they open.

 

[va32h]

Yes, our school has this policy. I don't know as it serves any real purpose, as they buzz everyone in anyway.

 

[SeaShelley]

All exterior doors at our grade school are locked and you must be "buzzed in" at the main office door. All visitor's must wear a badge that they pick up at the main office and all staff are required to wear their photo id badges at all times.

I think it's a great policy.

 

[mrsv98]

All the doors to DD's school are locked and need a badge to open. The only way into the school is through the office. Yes, the sec buzzes everyone in, but at least she sees everyone and can deny entry if need be. I think it is more to keep people from going in other doors unseen. I am fine with the policy but don't think it would stop a determined bad guy.

 

[starwood]

All of our schools have had locked doors since Columbine. The elementary schools you need to be buzzed in - but the Middle School had 1 door open with a little old lady guarding it asking where you needed to go (who was she going to keep out?) and the High School front door is open with someone sitting in the lobby asking what you need.

 

[PlutoPony]

Absolutely! It's a policy of the school SYSTEM (not individual schools) and I don't know of any systems in the area that don't have this policy. I'm not at all paranoid about these things but this seems to be a very reasonable and necessary provision for controlling who can enter schools when students are in the buildings.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

A friend and I were just talking about this the other day. My DD's school DOES NOT have this policy but I wish they would. The door does not open into the office it opens into a hallway than you have to enter the office. And if someone is not sitting right where they can see the door anyone can come in and get around them.

Yes there is a sign that says you must sign in at the office but people don't.

 

[diznygirl]

We have this policy, and doncha know that it hacks off some of the parents in town. They don't feel "welcome" at the school. Good gracious - suck it up!! I'd rather have my children safe than worry about how these parents "feel!"

 

[Anne34]

All exterior doors at our grade school are locked and you must be "buzzed in" at the main office door. All visitor's must wear a badge that they pick up at the main office and all staff are required to wear their photo id badges at all times.

I think it's a great policy.

We have the same policy at our schools. They have done is for years. I think it is great -- you never know who could pose as a parent and come into a school.

 

[freckles and boo]

Our elementary school is crowded but to keep class sizes down we have three mobile classrooms for the sixth graders. I don't know how that is handled. The rest of the school is locked at all entrances and visitors must be buzzed in directly to the office, sign in, receive visitor badges, and be escorted. As always there would be opportunities for anyone who is determined to cause trouble. The kids come and go through three different doors for gym and recess and three different doors at the beginning and end of the day. I feel confident that they are taking reasonable precautions.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

I think it is a great policy!!!! - I don't think DD's school follows it very well and that worries me....

 

[Trish Bessette]

No They just changed this year to locking all doors except the main entrance. I went to the school board years ago about this very issue how we had every entrance unlocked to the school and I feel it is unsafe.

Finally this year they changed to keeping every door locked except the main entrance which in my opinion defeats the purpose

 

[tkd lisa]

Our middle and high school don't do this here. It would be very difficult to implement since the schools are built around courtyards. There really isn't one primary outside door.

 

[monorailsilver]

My dd's elementary school they installed a buzzer system at all the doors & there is a code for the teachers at the playground doors so they can get in.

There are cameras at each door.

They just implemented this in Sept/Oct after the Amish incident but it was in the planning phase as they did one of the other schools but I think they kicked it up a notch.

There was a police officer at the door too before the buzzer system got installed.

 

[Nancy]

Elementary and middle schools do, you need to be buzzed in at both until dismissal times. I like the policy. The high school I'm not too sure about. I do know that we are told to enter through a certain door and that's where the person sits so you sign in...trust me you can't get past her either...she is a tough lady! But I've never tried the other doors. I am assuming they are locked. All doors can be opened from the inside in case of an emergency evacuation.

 

[4greatboys]

Our schools are like that and I dont really have a problem with it. The main door by the office is unlocked so they can see you when you go in. However all locked doors open from the inside anytime so if there is an emergency the kids and teachers can get out when they need to.

 

[Becky2005]

Ours has that policy but it would be *sooo* easy to work around it, that I don't consider it real secure.

I've taken the kids birthday treats in or have to go to a meeting and just walk in the door that's closer to the parking lot rather than walking all the way around to the front since it was always before school & anyone can come & go in & out those doors. They have patrols there that will open the door for you! We basically have 2 main doors to the school, once the tardy bell rings than only the main doors in the front by the office are open to the lobby area & you have to be buzzed into the school area.

You are supposed to sign in & get a visitor badge but a lot of times for the drop off treat thing, parents don't & I will be taking my 3 year old for speech there soon, I'm coming in via a locked door, the speech teacher will open it for me & I won't be going to sign in since I'm not even in the area of the office. I'm not sure I am expected to stay the entire time or come back in an hour.

The kids can *always* get out though. I would have a big issue if kids weren't able to get out in an emergency.

 

[cardaway]

I don't have children of my own but because the parents were stuck in the snow I recently picked up some of our daycare kids from an afterschool function. I was really shocked to see nobody monitoring who got into the school and who was walking around the kids.

But having the doors locked would mean there would need to be somebody paid to monitor the door, and for it to mean anything, they would need a way to know who they shoudl let in and not. As it stands, at that elementary school the only school employee around at that point is the teacher running the after school function.