After the Marjorie Stoneman Doug-las High School Shooting in Florida on February 14, that left 17 students dead, students everywhere want to know how safe they are in their schools. This situation has also grabbed the attention of district officials. “Emo-tionally, the fact that kids are dying in hallways, as a 30-year educator, appalls me,” said Dr. Paul Lynch, assistant superintendent for finance, operations and information systems. “Teachers should be teaching. Stu-dents should be learning. All of us are hovering in this cloud of uncertainty in a place that should be one of the most certain places in your life,” added Lynch. Students in the Lynbrook Public Schools can be assured that their safety concerns are a priority for the district.

Niche (niche.com), a website rating schools based on parent reviews, and using data from the FBI and from the U.S. Department of Education, has gathered information about the safest schools in the country. In New York, the Lynbrook Public School District was ranked seventh out of the 670 schools in the state. Lynbrook was also given an A-plus for the safety and health in the school. “From year to year, your Niche rating could go from seven to seventy, then to thirty, so we take that with a grain of salt,” cautioned Superintendent of Schools Dr. Melissa Burak. So it is important to understand the actions that the district is taking to ensure that the students understand how to stay safe and feel safe.

“How secure you believe you are and how secure others believe you are is only determined when you have a serious threat to security and you have to put your plans into effect,” said Principal Joseph Rainis. “We’re very fortunate that we take safety and security very seriously. We have protocols and procedures that are reviewed and practiced regularly.”

The recent shooting in Florida led the school to hold two assemblies and to change the security protocols to improve the safety of students. Burak also highlighted that in all of the district buildings, security has been enhanced “in an effort to harden our perimeters, to minimize vulnerabilities or any potential breech, so we can keep track of who is coming in and out of our buildings.”
At the high school, additional security measures have been put in place since students are allowed to come and go from the building during the day. Students and staff are required to have their school-issued ID on them at all times. Doors will be electrified and harder to open. The main lobby will include a zone where students will show their ID and where visitors are required to sign in. There will be strict schedule of meetings during school hours. Visitors must have a scheduled appointment and first con-tact a security guard, who will have a list of appointments, and show photo identification to be allowed into the building. All items dropped off to students will be left in the former detention room in the front of the school, and will only be allowed to be dropped off between 7:15 and 8:15 in the morning. Also, if a student is caught going in or out a door other than the main doors during school hours, he/she will be at an increased risk of suspension or detention. In addition, the district is working with the police department to improve their familiarity with the school’s layout in case of a potential incident.
Lynbrook Public Schools is working to ensure a safe and secure environment for students to thrive in.