SNOW HILL Months of plan-
ning has made the addition of new
school security this year "seam-
less," according to one principal.
Now that the first week of the
school year is over, both educators
and law enforcement are satisfied
now that they have seen the securi-
ty in action.
"There weren't any hiccups at all.
The staff was very prepared," said
Dawn Rogers, principal of Ocean
City Elementary School.
All county schools have added
new security measures for the
2013-2014 school year in response
to the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.,
last year.
All doors are locked and visitors
to the school must be buzzed in and
then present identification.
The biggest change from years
past, though, is the armed officers
that now watch over schools while
they are in session.
Having an officer to patrol the
halls and grounds of the school has
been reassuring, said Dr. Mary Ann
Cooper, principal of Snow Hill Ele-
mentary School.
"He's always that visible pres-
ence, which is comforting for par-
ents and comforting for children and
our staff," she said. "And he just
walks the building to make sure that
things are safe and walks the
grounds to make sure things are
safe."
According to Lt. Ed Schreier of
the Worcester County Sheriff's Of-
fice, having law enforcement in
schools, even if the officers are nev-
er called to action, is incredibly valu-
able.
"Putting a law enforcement offi-
cer in a school helps alleviate the
fear and the fear can affect a lot of
people," he said.
Rogers agreed, though at the el-
ementary level, she doesn't believe
most of her students have really no-
ticed the officer. Parents and faculty
certainly have, she continued, but
so far she has only heard good
things.
Cooper, likewise, wasn't able to
report any complaints after the first
week of school. Even though the
new ID checking system takes more
time to register visitors, no one
seems to mind, she said.
"Parents have been very excited
and very willing just to take a couple
extra minutes to do what is neces-
sary to make sure that everyone is
safe," said Cooper.
On the technical side, there have
been a few "growing pains," said
Schreier, but nothing unusual for the
significant amount of new security.
"It's all been positive. There have
been some procedural issues that
the school board had put in place
that people are beginning to learn
and comply with," he said. He add-
ed he "personally has not heard a
negative comment" so far.
Besides the new visitor check-in
and law enforcement in schools,
more security is likely to be phased
in later this year or next. If this first
week in real-world practice is any
indication, Cooper is confident that
any additional security will be han-
dled intelligently and only serve to
make people feel safer.
"There hasn't been a disruption.
It's been very seamless. It's become
very easy," she said. "The com-
ments that I've gotten have been
overwhelmingly positive. Everyone
is tickled with the security. They feel
that their children are safe. The staff
is excited because they feel that the
measures have been put in place."
Rogers said her entire faculty ad-
justed immediately and needed little
training.
"When that first person walked
up to the door and used the buzzer
system and it worked, right then we
just felt so much better," she said.
"We can do this and it is easy to do."
This first week has been useful
for the Sheriff's Office as well, said
Schreier, and has proven that the
months of planning was put to good
use.
"The partnership has been rein-
forced. You put something out on
paper, you put an idea out, a theory
or hypothesis, so to speak, which
needs to be tested or proven. Well
that's what we're doing now," he
said.
Smooth Start For Security Changes
Page 22
August 30, 2013
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