School adapts to recent security measures
Principal Brandi Hosack answers questions regarding ID badges, scanners, fences and tardies
Assistant principal Michael Jung monitors students as they enter the STEM wing before school starts. Administrators and security personnel were seen in greater numbers after the lockdown event in February.
April 18, 2018
Following the lockdown in February, Akins has begun to tighten security. The Akins Eagle’s Eye spoke to principal Brandi Hosack regarding safety changes that will be implemented.
The Eagle’s Eye: What safety concerns were on your radar beforehand?
Brandi Hosack: ( The concerns I mentioned before) have always been on my radar. I’ll just use this as an example: the STEM (Academy) wing, being able to get from STEM into the building and from the building into STEM. Prior to lockdown, you could just (come and) go. The safety concern that creates is that there’s not a checkpoint there. Now we’ve locked down both of those doors. We’re working on getting badges for each classroom so that if a student needs to go to the main building, they can take a badge with them, scan themselves and get in. We’re working on that right now. But it’s frustrating for students and for teachers because those doors are now locked. Being able to go back and forth is not nearly as easy, but it is a lot safer because nobody can just show up to those doors and walk in. I have to err on the side of safety.
EE: ID’s are going to be a non-negotiable next year. What does that mean?
BH: They need to be visible. There’s 3,000 students on this campus and there’s close to 3,500 people total. There is no way to know every single face all the time. IDs are one of those things, especially at large campuses. We haven’t fought that battle. We’ve just chosen that that’s not that’s not the battle we’re going to fight thus far. Due to safety concerns, it has to become one of those issues that we do. It’s not my favorite thing to fight (because) it’s one more thing that I have to chase after students about, and that’s not how I play ball. I really don’t prefer to be the stickler like that. At the same time, there’s no other way for me to be able to say yes or no in a moment’s notice (if it’s) a student or (if it’s) not a student. It’s just the only way to go about it.
The same is true for staff. I have a lot of staff members that have become accustomed to not wearing their badge. We have to make sure that we are. It’s everybody.
EE: And what about badge scanners?
Your ID badge as a student won’t get you into the building. Those badge scanners actually costs like $15,000 a piece. We have all the work orders in and it’s just a matter of where the money is coming from. We’re working on one for the cafeteria so that the portable people can (have access to the restroom). All we’re waiting for on the opposite side of that is badges for the scanners that are already installed at (the STEM and New Tech buildings). I’m waiting on the badges for those and I’m waiting for the scanner for (the cafeteria).
The badge itself will belong to that classroom. If you have a teacher in STEM and you’re supposed to go to the main office for something, they give you the badge you scan and you come do whatever it is you need do you go back.
EE: We’ve heard that there’s going to be a fence by the STEM wing. Is that correct?
BH: I’m asking for that. Again, all of these things that I want are attached to money to pay for them. Badges could work just fine, but to be able to allow free ow between STEM and the main building, it would be really nice if I could get a gate right there and lock the gate much like we do (at the morning bus loop). en I could keep those doors open. I would much rather have the gate so that we don’t have to deal with the door locking.
EE: At the front door in the morning, the tardy slips say “lunch detention.” Is this a new implement or are the passes outdated?
BH: It was just old and it was just something that we needed to get so that you all had access to class. The new system that prints out; it also said lunch detention. It’s just something that we had to x in the system. There is no such thing as lunch detention. Our tardy policy hasn’t changed. You get three tardies in a week, you have a Saturday School. at hasn’t changed.
EE: Is there anything you’d like to say or add?
BH: I just really want in this story for it to be told that I’m not trying to make life difficult. I’m really not. I wish there weren’t people doing silly things in this world. I wish that we didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing, but we do. It’s the world that we’re living in.
That being said I have to be able to control the ow of the campus (so that) I’m sure we’re safe. It’s not in any way shape or form to punish anybody or to make your life more difficult. It’s not my intention. My intention is to keep you safe. Sometimes safety requires us to go through some other stuff and it’s no fun.
I hope that students realize that it’s that it’s for everybody’s safety. That’s why we’re having to make these changes. That’s really what I want to make sure I drive home.
