Back to school includes tighter security at many Pittsburgh-area districts
The hallways and classrooms were still empty last week, but the auditorium at Pittsburgh Milliones 6-12 was packed with dozens of school police and security officers.
They spent Wednesday morning discussing restorative practices and de-escalation techniques, before spreading out across the Pittsburgh Public Schools district to conduct risk assessments and find any vulnerabilities in the security setup at their schools. Later, they reconvened for a refresher course on writing detailed incident reports.
The in-service training is conducted twice annually, said George Brown Jr., the school district’s chief of police. But just as at other districts across the country this year, security is on everyone’s minds as students are welcomed back for the first new school year since the deadly Valentine’s Day shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
“We’re pretty solid,” Mr. Brown said. “Most of the high school and middle schools have school police, security, metal detectors. Now it’s the human aspect of it.”
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February left 17 students and faculty members dead, fueling an alreadyheated debate about gun control, the presence of police officers in schools and mental health resources provided for students. It sparked a wave of student activism calling for stricter gun regulation, and at the same time prompted discussions of arming teachers and staff to deter would-be attackers.
While the broader conversation continues to rage six months later, local schools and districts have made security changes in time for students’ return to school over the next several weeks.
Districts across Allegheny County have hired additional security, created their own police forces or entered new contracts with local police departments.
The Mt. Lebanon School District is offering a free app for students and community members to contact police, leave anonymous tips or receive alerts in case of an emergency. The North Hills School District added a “captured vestibule” at the entrance to West View Elementary, and the Shaler Area School District added one to Reserve Primary School. It prevents visitors from entering the school unless they are buzzed into the building.
The Mars Area School District created a safety hotline for students to call and report bullying or other safety concerns. The
McKeesport District metal detectors purchased Area and locks School new for each classroom. The Peters Township School District has partnered with Rachel’s Challenge, an organization founded by a parent of a student killed in the Columbine shooting, to provide programs that emphasize compassion in place of violence.
“Our safety initiatives are not a knee-jerk reaction,” said Amy Billerbeck, school board president in Upper St. Clair, which said in a statement this week that it is making three additional hires to staff the district’s armed police force. “Rather, they represent a continuation of thoughtful planning built on years of work and best practices.”
The district also said it will place 40 more surveillance cameras — in addition to the 240 already in place — at various buildings, and will hire an additional counselor and school psychologist.
“Our district has committed significant resources to help ensure that we are following best practices in the area of school safety,” Upper St. Clair superintendent John Rozzo said in a news release. “It is the most important of the five focus areas of our district’s strategic plan.”
But while other districts are beefing up security with additional guards and officers, not all of them agree that they should carry weapons in school.
Despite the objections of some community members following controversy over the behavior of some school resource officers in the Woodland Hills School District, the school board unanimously voted Thursday to renew the contracts with Churchill and Rankin police. School board vice president Mike Belmonte acknowledged residents’ concerns but said they are outweighed by “external threats to everybody in the building” in an era of mass shootings.
Those officers, however, will not carry Tasers and will wear khaki pants and polo shirts, rather than their usual police uniforms.
Pittsburgh Public Schools, which has for years employed its own unarmed police force in addition to security guards, hired five more people and has added more metal detectors to its schools. Most of the city schools now have them, Mr. Brown said. The district’s security department now employs 92 people, including 22 officers.
The school board this fall will consider a request from the officers to discuss the possibility of allowing them to carry guns in schools, but when asked about the proposal, district spokeswoman Ebony Pugh referred to a resolution the board passed in July that said the board opposes having guns in school for any reason. Regardless, Mr. Brown said he’s confident Pittsburgh schools are safe. The district’s security personnel have received additional training in restorative practices, how to identify students in mental distress and how to recognize bullying. All Pittsburgh Public Schools faculty and staff — along with the district’s older students — have participated in active shooter training and drills. The school district will introduce a new, age-appropriate curriculum to its younger students about active shooters and safety emergencies, he said. “I’m very proud of my staff,” Mr. Brown said. “Every last one of them is invested in the kids. I think they have a passion for what they do.”