Keeping students safe a priority for districts as school year begins
HDG Architects has been designing school buildings for three decades – from elementary schools to buildings for college campuses – and safety is always top of mind.
The Pittsburgh-based architecture firm completed its work on the new Peters Township High School last year, and is currently working on renovations to Independence Middle School in the Bethel Park School District.
“The need for school security has been prevalent going back to Columbine (Colo.). Unfortunately, because of the continued mass shootings in the United States, it continues to increase in people’s consciousness as a potential danger,” said Kevin Hayes, founder of HDG. “We continue to advise and work with our clients in helping them maintain the best security for their staff.”
Hayes explained that the firm’s philosophy in designing a school building is to “harden” the perimeter, but to ensure the interior of the building is not intimidating.
“The issue is always attention between security, but not presenting a building where students and particularly the staff feel like they’re learning in a prison,” Hayes said.
Mostly, that means adding features such as bollards in front of entrances, and generally having as few entrances to the building as possible.
According to Hayes, this can be accomplished by making most doorways exit-only and having fewer windows. However, it remains a balancing act to make sure the overall design remains conducive to learning.
“Natural daylight has been shown in study after study to be beneficial. It’s always a matter of trying to find how to not have the school hinder the student’s ability to learn,” Hayes said.
Where a school sits geographically is also going to affect how HDG considers the design.
“Are there woods around it? Is it in a field? Are there residential areas around it? What does that do from a security standpoint?” Hayes said. “Almost all school districts have met and talked with and gotten advice from their local police departments on security, and that’s helpful.”
This is done regularly in Peters Township, according to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michael Fisher, as the Peters police department conducts walkthroughs and offers suggestions for improved security.
Those changes are not always divulged publicly.
“I don’t want to get too much in the weeds,” Fisher said. “There are things we always address on walkthroughs. It won’t be changes visible to the eye. Only to administrators, school resource officers and staff in the building.”
At their meeting last week, the Peters Township Board of School Directors voted to join the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Threat Assessment Hub. The program launched last year as a joint effort between the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the University of Pittsburgh. It is open to organizations in Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Armstrong, Beaver and Butler counties.
“It’s just a resource for all the districts,” Fisher said. “They work with the FBI. It’s a grant funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Districts have resources right at their fingertips.”
In the Connellsville Area School District, a threat evaluation has led to many changes for when the new school year begins Monday.
“This past year all of our buildings have had a threat assessment evaluation completed by the Pennsylvania State Police,” said Rich Evans, acting superintendent.
Evans explained that state police spent several weeks looking at how the schools are laid out and returned to the district with recommendations.
“In the past year, we’ve taken the results of that state police threat assessment and started to move forward in making changes,” Evans said.
Some of the changes include additional fencing, bollards in front of entrances and new security cameras.
“We’ve dramatically increased our video surveillance system, districtwide,” Evans said.
Connellsville also has its own school police, led by Director of Security Michael Parlak, and has officers stationed at each building.
This year, the district entered into an agreement with state police and Connellsville police to ensure “there is increased cooperation between all three groups,” according to Evans.
The agreement will make it easier for the district to communicate with local law enforcement, particularly if a situation arises that is beyond the capabilities of school police.
“Safety is a high priority every school year when we’re looking to our students coming back on Monday,” Evans said.