In an effort to strengthen campus safety, the Christ Church Episcopal School administration has chosen to implement a stronger security system across campus beginning this 2013-2014 school year.
The elevated security consists of a new Welcome Center located at the central entrance to the campus near the lower school entrance as well as additional officers and security staff on campus and newly implemented call boxes located all ver the campus. In addition to these changes, the school will now be closing the entrance and exit gates hear the upper, lower, and middle schools during the day, leaving a single entrance with the Welcome Center open only with security staff permission.
In an email to CCES parents on August 14, 2013, Headmaster Leonard Kupersmith introduced the new security features to parents by saying the school has “taken several measures to elevate security, both physical and emotional.” Kupersmith suggests that the secure community is a very good feature to our school.
However, some students of Christ Church are not as pleased as the headmaster with the new security conditions. Sophomore Ruthie Perlman says “the new system is inconvenient and somewhat unnecessary.” Even though some people such as Darcy Merline admit to the “inconvenience,” of the new system, they agree that new system is a “very positive addition,” to our school, according to Mrs. Kimmel.
Other students such as Davis Thurmond, say the heightened security “is a good thing,” especially after the recent disasters involving gunmen in schools. With all of the young people in our school, Mrs. Kimmel agrees that the new security adds a “good element,” to the school’s reputation as a safe school and a secure community.
Though the new measures taken to make the campus more secure bring inconvenience to most, students, teachers and parents of the CCES community agree that the extra time taken when entering and exiting the school is completely worth the inconvenience if it protects the staff and students of Christ Church Episcopal School. Sophomore Hayden Brown admits the new rules can be “annoying” but that they definitely make the school a lot more safe, which to students Clara Riley, Davis Thurmond and Hayden Brown is a top-priority for themselves and their parents.