With the recent threats in the county along with violence in schools around the country, school safety has been a major topic of discussion. The county has been surveying ways to ensure safety for students, and the biggest question seems to be whether Wheeling Park High School should have metal detectors.
“With the increase of violence in school and violence in general, there is a lot more emphasis on strategies to decrease possible issues,” said Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Jones.
Before deciding whether to purchase metal detectors, there are a few factors that are being taken into account. Currently the county is carefully considering what kind of metal detectors to purchase, if they were to purchase, along with taking into account time restraints.
“We are beginning to price and assess the different options now. I will be at the State Safety Conference this week and will be able to see some different options,” said Mr. Jones.
The amount of time it would take to get all students into school is one of the major arguments against metal detectors in school. Wheeling Park has 1,426 students, and some students are concerned that they may have to get to school earlier in order to compensate for the time it takes for everyone to get into school.
“If I have to come to school earlier to go through a metal detector I will be upset,” said junior, Anthony Sikole.
The extent of the time issues depends on the kind of metal detector that could be installed. The county is analyzing the options to lessen the effect on time, which includes using existing cameras.
“That is one of the possible disadvantages to some options. We aren’t in favor of a slow process. There are options out there that involve using existing cameras to pick up metal without lines,” said Mr. Jones.
In all the administration feels that the possible addition of metal detectors is something that will add to the sense of safety of Wheeling Park, along with ensuring the safety of everyone in the school.
“In general, I think metal detectors can be a positive addition in providing security and a sense of security in our building. We would need to be considerate of the technology we choose so that we are not dealing with long lines of students entering the building each day,” said Mrs. Dailer.
The possible addition of metal detectors is one of the many ways that the county ensures student safety. The other safety measures include: County-wide man traps, 2 – way radios for staff, more school resource officers, cameras, practice of drills, mental health counselors, and school safety expert research of the district. Wheeling Park also establishes a safe and secure learning environment with procedures, safety drills, and reviewing safety protocols.
“We do so many things to maintain safety. We share much of our safety protocols on Tuesday Topics during Safety in Seconds. We discuss and adjust safety practices regularly – both internally and with our local safety agencies. We also maintain and use our safety resources like our PRO, security cameras, security vestibule, and walkie-talkies,” said Mrs. Dailer.
The time concerns regarding the possibility of metal detectors being installed at Park are considerably outweighed by the additional sense security that the detectors could give to everyone in the school.
