BY SABRINA WONG
Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, CCHS began increasing its safety and security measures. These policies will be carried over into the upcoming 2018-19 school year, being enforced from the first day on.
“I believe that increasing the security of our school was something that should not have been brought on by a sudden breach in school security elsewhere,” senior Alexandra Porras said. “That being said, I do believe that the administration and faculty at CCHS are doing as good of a job as any with keeping our campus safe. However, there is always room for improvement.”
Students are required to have their IDs visible any time they are located on school grounds. Administration and several security guards are supposed to check that students walking onto campus have their form of identification placed somewhere that can be easily seen by everyone else.
Teachers in both buildings are also responsible for making sure students are wearing their ID by checking, once again, in each of their classes. This regulation was set in place as an effort to verify that everyone at the school is accounted for.
Students are required to have their IDs visible any time they are located on school grounds.
“I feel like having to constantly wear our IDs is pointless,” junior Sarah Qazi said. “Yes, some adults do check if you’re wearing them in the morning, but that’s it. After that, no one confirms that we’re wearing them throughout the day, even if they’re supposed to.”
Multiple messages have been sent out to parents from CCHS administration during the months of summer vacation, reminding students to keep their former ID to wear before they can receive new IDs for this school year. If students neglect to follow this rule, they will receive a $5 obligation each time they forget to bring it to school.
Additional school resource officers, whose main job is to keep the community safe, are also now on campus. With an increased amount at school, the protection of both students and faculty is heightened.
“I feel like I’m in a more secure environment … seeing more officials around definitely makes me believe that there would be less incentive for any harm to happen,” junior Julia Christian said.
Students are not permitted on school grounds past 2:45 p.m.
As another form of security, cover sheets are mandatory in all classrooms. Though they are usually just pieces of black construction paper, cover sheets can be anything that prevent someone outside from seeing people through the small window found on a classroom door.
In past years, some of the students who would have clubs or rehearsals for after-school activities would arrange for food to be delivered before the start of their extracurriculars. This is no longer allowed. Any meal or snack deliveries onto the property of CCHS have been prohibited. Some of the popular services previously used include Uber Eats, Postmates, Domino’s Pizza and Jimmy John’s.
Additionally, students are not permitted on school grounds past 2:45 p.m., with the exception of those who have sports or other approved after-school activities. Otherwise, everyone is expected to be off campus before the clock reaches this time.
CCHS is one of many schools in South Florida that have embarked on taking school safety more seriously. The implementation of these policies will continue into this school year. CCHS administration has only just begun its journey of accelerated security efforts and they will likely be carrying on for a long time.
Photo by The Lariat Photography
