I honestly thought after all the school shootings etc. security at schools was beefed up. I know where I live it's air tight. You have to physically be buzzed in the school. The office staff can see you on video when you buzz. I also know that personal phone calls home to those not in school without prior notification occur. This is in elementary through high school around here. I am SHOCKED that a child can be absent at this school without a phone call home. It boggles my mind.
I'm just saying I can't imagaine the school being held accountable for his disappearance especially if he was counted absent on that day unless the school has him on video in the school on that day.
For the last six years, I have worked at a rural elementary school with approximately 600 students in grades k-6. This year we finally received funding and had security cameras installed but only at the main entrances and exits of the building. It is required that you check in and out with the office but not everyone will do this. We have "those people" in all towns that believe that they are above the rules and will not be bothered with signing in or out of the school. "They" believe it's their child they can come and go as they please.
Also, if a child is absent no one calls to see why the child isn't there, it's usually up to the teacher to obtain a note from the child's parents as to why the child was absent. All schools are different depending upon state guidelines.
I'm just saying I can't imagaine the school being held accountable for his disappearance especially if he was counted absent on that day unless the school has him on video in the school on that day.
A school is not a money making entity. Except for fundraisers. If taxpayers want security in schools, they will have to vote to provide the money to do that.
If the taxpayers do not see that as an issue, then it will not happen.
Is This What Happened to Kyron Horman?
Yesterday, my husband was about ten minutes early picking up my 6-year-old daughter from school ... and saw her walking down the street outside the school by herself!
She said she had gone to the lost and found to find her lunchbox and then couldn't find where her class went. (They were on the playground.) So she decided to walk out of the school and down the sidewalk (bordering a busy street) all by herself to see if her class had been dismissed.
This scared the hell out of us -- that a kid (OUR kid!) could just walk off campus without anyone knowing. How easy would it have been for someone to just scoop her up and pull her in their car ... with no witnesses?!
Food for thought. Maybe if the school didn't hire that extra guidance counselor, they could use that money for security. I know I'm an old fogey but that is the most wasteful job at school in my opinion. I'm sure there are some courses that could be deleted and basic education be provided for less. When my child was in public school the guidance counselors would be sitting in the break room half the day and I had one when I was in school but never saw him. Course that is in my state, don't know how other states do this, they may have a different name for the counselors.
I would be more willing to fund security if the schools also had appropriate curriculems for reading , writing and math. Here, they don't, so I resent their asking for money for anything. Lets see, we are funding squirrel bridges in Arizona, and sending the Palestinians lots of cash, how about using that money on our children? Lets see, they allocate a certain amt of dollars per child, then they have to pay teacher's salaries, provide a bldg, heat or cooling. I know I'm in the minority about this, but those teachers that cannot even speak proper English should go. Lots of ways to cut the budget.
WillenFan - I agree with you to a point. I'm going to withhold my judgment until this all plays out. If TH took him - then no, the school should not be held accountable - but YES they should definitely take their security system/plan up 4 - 5 notches!!!!!
I'm willing to bet that this school will ahve security cameras by the time school starts in August.
As a school counselor, I'm going to have to disagree. There are ways to find funding, especially since many organizations give grants for safety (as we just received a large one to fence in the playground that otherwise would have had to wait), I think school counselors are vitally important to the children they serve. Students who are not facing issues that would warrant visiting the school counselor often do not see the benefit they have but those that need them, maybe even Kyron, could and do often greatly benefit from them. Funding is tight and evidently that specific district never seen a need to reallocate some funds or apply for grants to provide the safety that would have helped in this case.
That said, we have very secure buildings where everything is locked, you buzz into the office, you provide proof of who you are and why you are there and then if you are going to need to access the building, you wear a bright, big visitor tag and are signed into the office. There are cameras everywhere and all can be seen by the office staff as well as recorded. However, on days where we have activities in our buildings in the district, most of that goes out the window. The door is unlocked, you sign in but you don't prove who you are or why you are there to anyone, just sign some name and be on your way. Doors can be opened from the inside, for safety purposes, and you can go out them or let someone in them. Although this would be on video, you can easily gain access.
A school is not a money making entity. Except for fundraisers. If taxpayers want security in schools, they will have to vote to provide the money to do that.
If the taxpayers do not see that as an issue, then it will not happen.
I agree about school counselors as well as other things people feel are needed at a school.
Because most people have attended school, they have thoughts on what a school should be or have. Most people have opinions because it comes out of their pockets.
So if people feel strongly about something, they will have to lobby their appropriate funding sources to try to get what they need.
What one person feels is important may not seem important to the next. That's why school issues are so fraught with drama. Everyone has an opinion and they often are diametrically opposed.
Nothing that has been released indicates that the school behaved negligently. It is clear that neither the teacher nor the principal was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. This indicates that it is not believed that there was any wrongdoing on the part Portland Public Schools.
Could they have had better security? Maybe.
Cameras- Let's say that the school had cameras at every door and a few in the hallways. Perhaps we would have a bit more clarity in who Kyron went with, but it wouldve been unlikely that it wouldve prevented the person from taking him. (Our school security cameras are incredibly unclear and take a picture every couple of seconds instead of rolling tape. Weve needed to review them for legal purposes before and had very little luck with gathering needed information.)
Calling Home- Our school system calls home for absences in secondary grades only. Think about it: before Kyron, who wouldve ever thought these calls home could determine that a child had been abducted? The reason school districts across the US instituted this policy was to crack down on older kids skipping school. Thats not something elementary children tend to do and therefore they are exempt from this policy.
Sign Out Procedures- We have no indication that Skyline does not have a check out procedure. We all know that criminals abide by policies, so Im sure Kyrons abductor wouldve made sure he was properly checked-out for the day before loading him up.
The only way school districts can totally prevent a kidnapping is to stop having special days altogether, only allow approved staff inside the building, and close the school up like Ft. Knox with bullet proof barriers. Thats neither feasible nor realistic. The likelihood of a stranger abduction in school , especially one filled with staff, parents, and students (read: witnesses) is very low. I doubt any security couldve saved Kyron, but it mightve given LE a little more to work with.
Regarding the suggestion of getting rid of guidance counselors to free up extra dollars: there is no one in our school who does more for our elementary children than our guidance counselor. She is in charge of all testing, counseling every single child in our school who come from less than ideal homes (the numbers are higher than you even want to know), working with government agencies to find assistance for families, reporting cases of abuse and neglect to Child Protective Services, making home visits, assisting with special needs children, and character development training for all students. Who would be able to fill all of these services if we didnt have a GC? Ill tell you now, that the teachers are too busy with teaching, paperwork, discipline, and lesson planning to possibly have time to take on all of those tasks.