What are local high schools doing to keep your kids safe?

A former student returned to a South Florida high school Wednesday and opened fire with an assault rifle, killing 17 and injuring 15 just before dismissal.

Local schools are doing what they can to prevent such a tragedy, including implementing more safety measures in new construction and using technology to enhance safety. We contacted several area schools; for security reasons, school officials have not disclosed certain safety measures.

State College Area High School

In response to the Florida shooting, a letter from State College Area School District Superintendent Bob O’Donnell was posted on the district’s Twitter account Thursday morning.

“This morning as we cope with our emotions, I want to assure you that the safety of students continues to be our top priority. At our schools, we have multiple security measures and procedures in place for a number of emergency scenarios. Additionally, we have a regular police presence in all of our schools. ... It is very important for us to ensure our children feel supported to help them cope with this event. As much as we would like to shield our children from this disturbing news, they will hear and see media reports and may feel scared or upset. Please reassure them that we, as a school community, will do everything we can to help students feel safe.”

State High’s new facility opened its doors in January with a design that prioritizes student safety.

From the conception of the construction project, which is about halfway done, Director of Physical Plant Ed Poprik said they’ve followed principles of a program called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, which is a methodology of designing a building to make it safer and more secure, internally and externally.

Poprik said they worked on hardening the exterior of the building first to make it more difficult to enter.

Visitors must enter through the main entrance by pressing a button to identify themselves to the main office staff and then they’ll enter a locked vestibule before being allowed to enter the office, he said.

Poprik said it was important to use a lot of natural light in the school, meaning a lot of windows (with bullet-resistant glass), so that people inside the building can see everything that’s going on, including when someone approaches the building.

The building has heavy surveillance throughout, by people (thanks to the windows) and by hundreds of cameras.

“Every public space within the building is covered with a camera, so if you’re walking down any hallway, any stairwell, you’re on camera — there’s no blind spots or place that isn’t covered,” Poprik said.

The new high school also features fire doors, which are used to contain a fire to a section of a building, but they’re also valuable during an intruder or active shooter situation because they can confine someone to a specific area, Poprik said.

Penns Valley Area High School

Penns Valley High School is going through substantial construction, which is expected to be completed by August. Included in the renovations are several improved security features.

The main entrance has a triple-entry system, so visitors will enter a vestibule and then the office. Superintendent Brian Griffith said that if a parent needs to access their child, the child will come through the office to connect with them. Visitors are kept in a public area and aren’t allowed access to the rest of the building, Griffith said.

All of the high school’s doors have also been replaced with secure-locking mechanisms.

“We do have the ability to electronically lock down the entire district at any time we so choose,” Griffith said.

The exterior and interior of the building is outfitted with more than 200 cameras, which state police have access to in a crisis situation, he said.

The school district in January started using SchoolGuard, an app that faculty have on their electronic devices that allows them to press a single button that alerts both on-duty and off-duty troopers or other approved law enforcement in the area if a dangerous situation arises.

Griffith also said the main office’s visibility to the outside has improved. A large window allows more sets of eyes to keep tabs on what’s happening outside of the building.

In addition, the trees that used to be out front have been removed. That’s partially due to their age and partially so law enforcement has a clear view of the school upon arrival.

But it’s not just software and building security features that protect students and staff; the community plays a large role, too.

“With everything we’re reading and seeing on these school shootings is that prevention of the school shooting is the best thing, so that takes people being vigilant, and people seeing something and reporting it, people letting others know when they have concerns and then a proper investigation that follows,” Griffith said.

“We can put money into our building and systems, but the reality is that it’s the soft stuff, the human interactions and social media interactions that we need to be vigilant and aware of that prevents these things from happening.”

Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School

The Philipsburg-Osceola High School’s main entrance has a double door with two locking doors and a secretary to check-in visitors. Cameras are set up throughout the building and monitored by administration.

Though, in the event of an active shooter situation, Superintendent Gregg Paladina said he is concerned about law enforcement response time because the Pennsylvania State Police is consolidating its barracks with Rockview.

Paladina said that the school board on Tuesday discussed possibly hiring at least two armed officers in the high school and middle school.

“It’s not the same world we grew up in and my parents grew up in,” he said.

In light of Wednesday’s tragedy in Florida, Paladina said P-O is not going to have unannounced fire drills. The Florida gunman had reportedly pulled the fire alarm to draw people out of classrooms.

“We’re not going to expose our kids to that,” he said. “We’re leaning toward, for now, the students will be aware (of an upcoming drill).”

The school district tries to substantiate any threats, but Paladina said the “reality is that you never know.”

“I have two children in the high school and one in the middle school — I want to keep everyone safe,” he said.

Bald Eagle Area High School

Luckily for Bald Eagle Area High School, the state police at Rockview barracks is right across the street. But that doesn’t mean the school doesn’t have security features in place.

All doors are locked and anyone who visits the high school must come through the main entrance and present an ID, Superintendent Jeff Miles said.

More than 120 cameras are installed, and the district also has looked into using the SchoolGuard app so faculty can easily alert law enforcement if needed.

Miles also mentioned that during non-school hours, there are prop alarms on the doors.

“I don’t believe that there’s a superintendent or principal or teacher that doesn’t think about this every day — yesterday doesn’t make us more aware of it,” Miles said. “It’s an ongoing thing; you hope it never happens....”

“If someone is trying to make their way into the building, they’re going to be able to make their way into the building. The best thing you can have is a police presence on-site or very close by.”

Bellefonte Area High School

Bellefonte High School features a vestibule at the main entrance that prevents visitors from entering before having their ID checked and receiving a time sensitive badge, Superintendent Michelle Saylor said.

She said all doors are locked, and cameras are located throughout the building.

“The school is very, very safe, and our staff is well-trained,” Saylor said. “It’s our top priority to keep everyone safe.”

Two resource officers are also stationed on campus.

Bellefonte also uses the SchoolGuard app. Saylor said Bellefonte is currently looking into using Gaggle, a software program that checks student correspondence on social media and looks at what language is used in an effort to catch concerning behavior.

“We want to be proactive instead of reactive,” Saylor said.

This story was originally published February 15, 2018 at 7:18 PM with the headline "What are local high schools doing to keep your kids safe?."