Kenosha High Schoolers Refuse Entry to Principal

He Couldn’t Be Prouder

Steve Knecht, Principal of Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin remembers: “One day I was outside, in a hurry to get to my office but didn’t have my ID.  When I tried taking a short cut through a side door, my students knew the rules and wouldn’t let me in.  It was great!”

How Can You Learn If You Don’t Feel Safe? 

There’s nothing staff and parents want more than to have their kids be and feel safe.  Students can’t focus on learning if they have a nagging fear; educators know that feeling safe is the foundation of Maslow’s pyramid of development.

In 2019, Tremper’s leaders felt it was time to take another, closer look at how people entered their building.  The nation’s concern for school safety was growing, since the Parkland shooting in February 2018. 

Building a single, controlled point of entry became central to Tremper’s common sense safety program.  Previously, people could use any of eight doors.  The new, single entry included a visible space for the Security Resource Officer, who’d been in the back of the building.  The new entry isn’t just a door with a lock:  the SRO’s office has windows looking into the controlled vestibule, and the school’s courtyard, and bike racks.  All entries are controlled and monitored by a key fob system. 

While the Tremper entry was part of the capital budget, the district also received two safety grants from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which helped fund controlled entries at twelve other Kenosha schools.

A controlled point of entry makes everyone feel safer, which helps focus on learning and teaching.

Nexus Value Added:

Innovative relocation of SRO Office next to main office and secure entry

Commendable commitment to site safety and visitor access during construction

Other Improvements:

Theatre and Lighting

Culinary Space

Lab Spaces

Auto Center with Snap On Partnership

From the vestibule, visitors can see the 85-inch monitor which displays at one time 20 of the school’s 160 cameras at one time.  While it’s important for the SRO to see people, it’s just as important that people know they can be seen.  Clear sightlines are critical for responding to any security event.  Knowing trained personnel have their eyes on everything makes people feel safe. 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 97.1% of schools had controlled access of buildings during school hours, outranking all other safety measures in 2009-20 (see NCES’s “School Safety and Security Measures”).  CCTVs were the second most used security measure, growing from 61.1% to 91.1%  in the same period.

But the main entry is only part of Tremper’s system of safety.  Staff and students have roles to play in their busy building.

Safety at All Times of the Day  

There are entries aligned with loading zones for pickup and dropoff and once school’s in session, everyone has to use the controlled entry, and all visitors must always use the main entry.  Visitors get a sticker to wear, so everyone knows if a stranger belongs.  There’s also a well-signed entry for athletic events and performances that’s closely monitored. 

Pat Finnemore, Kenosha’s Director of Facilities agrees with Principal Knecht: “It’s really people that make the difference in security and safety.” 

As people began to feel safer, Knecht started to see other positive changes.

Safe to Try New Things

Less distractions.  People circulating in a building is like water in a stream: there’s less turbulence if everything flows in the same direction.  Controlling the entries kept visitors from walking against the class-to-class current, which had been a distraction.  Having the controlled entry revealed that 80% of visitors—parents dropping off a forgotten book, contractors picking up paperwork, a community member leaving something for the administrators—didn’t need to enter the school building at all.

Safety First and Last

 But It’s always safety first at Tremper.  Knecht and Finnemore knew things were working when a parent complained to an assistant principal, “Hey!  It’s really hard to get into this building.”  Presenting Tremper’s safety features and procedures is now part of new student orientation—a good way to make a great start at school!

• Three questions to help you explore this issue in your District:

  1. On a scale of 1 to 4, how safe do you feel in your school?

  2. Where in your building do students and staff feel safest?

  3. Where on your floor plan could sightlines be improved?

• Talk to the Nexus Team that worked on this project:

  PHONE: 608.819.6370

  EMAIL: info@NexusSolutions.com