School District Moves Forward With Proposed Safety Measures

A month and a half has passed since North Canton administrators met with police and fire officials as well as parents and other community members to discuss school safety and security.

At that January town hall meeting inside Hoover Hall, a few safety suggestions rose to the top of the pile: lockdown training for students and teachers, the use of a radio system to better communicate throughout the buildings (and with police) during crises, and more intensive measures when allowing visitors into the school buildings.

North Canton City Schools joined other schools across the country in identifying areas of concern in light of the  that left 27 people dead in December.

So, where does that all stand now in North Canton?

Superintendent Michael Hartenstein told North Canton Patch last week that those particular safety measures are still in the works — and some have already been implemented.

For instance, the building receptionists have started holding visitors' IDs upon entering the building. Visitors will get their IDs back when they leave.

"In the past, we've always wanted to be as warm, open and inviting as possible; we still want to be that way," Hartenstein said. "But the problem is the more we are open, the less secure we are."

Hartenstein said the district also will work on communication, which includes radios given to administration and staff that would allow them to not only communicate among themselves, but reach out to police as well. 

Communication doesn't end there, though. The district also would like to take a look at its floor plans and ensure the police have up-to-date information on them as well as have police practice lockdown procedures with the district so that they "become second nature," Hartenstein said.

As for lockdown training, Hartenstein said the district is planning an April 19 training for staff to learn the response tactic A.L.I.C.E. (Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Escape).

The system involves alerting police, placing the school under lockdown, barricading the students in the classrooms and evacuating the areas where they know the intruder is not.

The April 19 date is tentative as the district awaits approval for the waver date from the Ohio Department of Education.

Students also will take part in A.L.I.C.E. training at a later date that hasn't been determined yet. Both trainings will be conducted with the help of the North Canton Police Department.

"The police department has just been a terrific asset with us and has been very, very helpful," Hartenstein said.

He had mentioned at January's town hall meeting that the district would distribute a community-wide survey about safety and security in the schools. That is still in the works.

The survey, which will differentiate between parents and non-parents, will be available within the next couple weeks. Participants can take the survey online, and they also will be able to pick them up at high-trafficked locations around town, such as the North Canton YMCA, City Hall and Chamber of Commerce.

Keep checking back with North Canton Patch about safety and security changes within North Canton City Schools.