Teachers, staff, and security are now required to keep the classroom and outside doors locked so if an emergency were to occur, the school would be prepared. Excluding passing periods, the doors stay shut, but does this policy help us stay safe?

“If the doors are locked, that means people can’t just come and go. But really the big safety thing is if somebody does decide to do some harm or be violent, it’s a barrier for protection because they’re not going to break down a door or shoot a locked door or anything like that to get in,” Mark Frey, school resource officer, said.

As for the outside doors, only having the main entrance unlocked helps keep anyone who is not supposed to be in our building out according to Frey. Even if it may cause some difficulties in the mornings for students trying to get to class on time, it helps keep our school safe from any potential threats in the building.

“As long as the doors are locked and closed, you’re creating that barrier between whatever [is] outside that door and the safety of the school,” Frey said. “It keeps them outside of the school so they can’t just walk into any entrance and have open rein to the school to wander around.”

While protection from any outside dangers is helpful, keeping classroom doors locked adds an extra layer of security. This school year, teachers keep their doors locked the whole period and only prop them open during passing periods according to Addie Sullivan, English teacher.

“It can be a hassle. For instance, when students have to go to the bathroom and come back then we have to open the door for them [or] with students just coming and going coming late you have to open the door,” Sullivan said. “But I can deal with it. I feel the safety procedures they put in place are a lot better than what we had before.”

Despite the few minutes it may take out of class to let students back into the room, this system is better for the schools overall safety. If there were an emergency situation, locking classroom doors helps teachers and students get to safety sooner without having another thing to worry about.

“For instance, if your door locks from the outside, you would have to step out of your classroom and lock it, which takes time. Every second counts in those situations. You want to be able to get to your corner of the room and hide as quickly as possible,” Sullivan said.

As stressful as it is to have to consider these kinds of situations as possibilities, keeping all our doors, outside and in, locked helps keep us safe and secure so we can focus on our learning instead of worrying about our security.

“It’s not one of those things where ‘this is happening, we have a step-by-step solution,’” Frey said. “Having a little bit of forethought on what to do and pre-planning is a great way to prepare yourself for whatever you might encounter.”