School Safety a Top Priority for Pleasant Valley School District

By Brian Myszkowski, Pocono Record Writer

At the start of a new school year, student safety is a paramount concern for parents, and a top priority for administrators, faculty, and staff.

While many districts have been discussing the prospects of security changes – adding armed officers, weapon training for teachers, etc. – Pleasant Valley School District is focused on building upon their already renowned safety protocols.

School safety is becoming even more of a pressing issue for all, especially in light of the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students and staff members were killed.

One of the district’s measures, random metal detector screenings, has been a security hallmark for years. Incoming buses are randomly selected for screening at both the high school and middle school in order to prevent students from bringing weapons or other forms of contraband onto school grounds.

Superintendent David Piperato said that the routine procedure may not have caught anything particularly dangerous, though it does act as a deterrent.

“We’ve been following that protocol, and to my knowledge, nothing of concern has come up yet,” Piperato said.

In addition to the detectors, Pleasant Valley employs both armed police officers and security officers to patrol the grounds and secure entrance and exit points. Piperato said that five police officers are assigned to the four buildings in the district – the elementary school, the intermediate school, the middle school and the high school.

In order to control the risk of numerous outside threats, individuals who wish to access any district building must present a piece of identification with a photograph and provide a reason for their visit.

Piperato said that while Pleasant Valley has a high standard for security, district employees are always open to explore possibilities for improvements.

“We’ve hired an architect to redesign that entrance with a focus on security. The entrance is safe and secure now, but we identified some improvements that we want to make,” Piperato said.

At the school board’s Aug. 23 meeting, the district awarded the security entrance upgrade project to Allentown’s MKSD Architects at a cost of $18,260. The goal is to have the project wrapped up by the end of the school year, Piperato said.

But the cornerstone of student, faculty, and staff safety at the district is firmly based on communication, Piperato said.

“That’s honestly our best defense, students feeling comfortable communicating with staff and teachers,” he said.

Getting students to express their concerns with faculty and staff members is integral to addressing pressing safety concerns, as the kids may have an easier time identifying red flags, like unusual behavior exhibited by a peer.

As part of the communication initiative, the school employees encourage students to report any incidents of threatening behavior. According to the student-parent handbook, the district may require a student to be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist to ensure that they are not a threat to themselves or others.

“As a nervous Nellie of a person I am always nervous about something happening in general, with all the shootings and craziness going on, it scares me a bit,” Gillen said.

And even if students are provided with information on what to do in an emergency situation, Gillen feels that more instruction could prove to be beneficial, especially for younger students.

“Well, I’d like to see more drills, definitely. There’s too much chaos in the world and they are too young to know what to do in an emergency situation on their own,” she said.

While Pleasant Valley continues to strive for the best safety standards, the district has routinely performed well on evaluations conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police. Piperato said that after a state police audit that took place about a year and a half ago, the officers commended district employees for an outstanding review.

It’s an accolade that district employees hope to hold onto throughout this school year and the future.

“We’ve always been a secure district,” Piperato said.