Are Your Children Safe At School?
By Aquarius Cain
View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.
Recently, there have been breaches in security at several
schools throughout the U.S. From the
shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT and now a child
abduction from Bryant Elementary in West Philadelphia. There was also a security breach at JFK High
School in Cleveland just days ago. Even
I experienced an incident with my 3-year-old son recently that has me wondering,
“Are our kids safe at school?”
With metal detectors and an x-ray machine, you would think
that students at JFK High School in Cleveland would be safe. Not the case.
One side door was found unlocked and open with no personnel there to
guard it. Anyone could have walked into
the building from that entrance. The
door is usually used by faculty and staff only.
Luckily, there was no incident or crime that occurred. So, how did the door become unlocked and who
left it open?
But what about the little 5-year-old girl, Nailla Robinson,
who was abducted from her elementary school in West Philadelphia just minutes
after her mother dropped her off at school?
An amber alert was issued on January 14, 2013 for the missing girl hours
after someone walked into the school pretending to be her mother and checked
her out. How did this happen? How can
someone walk right into a school and take someone’s child? It was only after a daycare provider came to
pick little Nailla up that school officials realized she was missing. They called her parents and issued the alert. She was found early this morning (January 15,
2013) crying and cold nearly 10 blocks away from where she was abducted. Thankfully she was okay.
I can completely understand parents’ concerns over the
safety and protection of our children.
My son was missing at daycare during an afternoon transition to combine
classes. I walked into a dark and empty
classroom to retrieve my 3-year-old son’s belongings before going to pick him
up from another class. As I walked to
his cubby I hear, “Mommy.” I turn around and see my son walking from a back
corner of the classroom alone (let me remind you that it was dark in the
classroom). Immediately, so many things
are running through my mind but I kept my composure to question my child about
why he was in the room alone. He never
left the room! The teacher did not make
sure that all of the children left the room.
Yes, she did a head count but failed to line them up at the door. She simply told them to “come on.” My major concern was that he was alone and
anything could have happened to him. The
teacher noticed that A CHILD was missing but did not know which one. When she sent another teacher to look for a
missing child, that teacher only checked the bathroom before walking out to
check the playground. My son was okay
and unharmed but this raises major concerns about policies, procedures, and the
safety and security of our children.
How do we make sure our children are protected when we are
entrusting their lives to child care providers and school systems? “Schools are soft targets. They have multiple
entry points, are known to be gun free and are target rich environments,” says
Mike DeBoer, a retired Battle Creek police commander. Mr. DeBoer continues to offer solutions,
suggesting that schools conduct regular security surveys at each building to
identify weaknesses and improve security.
Locked doors and glazing materials should be used as a first line of
physical defense against predators. I believe there should be monthly
trainings for teachers and child care providers to attend to review safety
policies and procedures and to practice them.
While it may be costly, an investment into security and identification equipment
is necessary as well. Had Bryant
Elementary had an identification system with photo id software identifying
persons with permission to pick the child up, I believe that would have
prohibited Nailla from being abducted.
Related Articles:
Do you feel that your kids are safe at school? What security measures, policies and procedures are in place that makes you feel secure about sending your children to school everyday?
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About the author:
Aquarius Cain is the CEO of Accelerated Learning
Educational Services. She is a full-time tutor with more than ten years of
combined teaching and tutoring experience. As an educator, Mrs. Cain is a
lover of learning and any opportunity she gets to spread knowledge through
training the mind, she does, in her own unique way!
Connect with Aquarius Cain on LinkedIn
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ALES is a tutoring company that provides comprehensive tutoring services. Students in grades K-12, college students, and adult learners can get quality tutoring through an online course, live virtual one-on-one tutoring, or in-home tutoring. For more information on the world-class services and service areas provided by ALES, visit the website: www.acceleratedlearningservices.com.
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