In light of the recent tragedy in Florida, East Grand Rapids High School has implemented a new policy to make our school safer. During lunch, all doors except the main entrance will be locked, so anyone entering the school during 4th and 5th hour must walk in through the office.

“The staff, the students, and I, we all live at the school throughout the week. It’s a second home to many of us,” Principal Craig Weigel said. “We want it to be as safe as possible. I think that any time we see these tragedies, it’s natural for us to look to our own policies and practices and really evaluate if we are doing what we can to keep our schools safe.”

This new policy is not EGR High School’s first step towards better security. The school also implemented various other features such as video cameras, new door-locking mechanisms, and a Nightlock for each classroom, which when locked into place, anchors the door to the ground for extra protection.

In addition to these precautionary measures, the school is open to suggestions for new policies as well.
“If students have ideas about how we can improve safety here at the school, then we are all ears,” Weigel said. “I would encourage anyone to come forward and talk to myself, Mr Wojciechowski, or a teacher. We’d be happy to listen to those ideas and evaluate how effective they might be for us.”

Ultimately, one of the best ways to keep our community safe is through communication. Principal Weigel emphasizes the importance of “see something, say something.”

“What we’ve learned as a society over the last several tragedies is that the more people speak out and say something, the safer we are,” Weigel said. “We encourage our community and students to say something if they see something. If something concerns you, bring it forward to somebody so we can be as proactive as possible to keep our students safe.”