All Jenks Schools to Install LobbyGuard Units: The Machines Will Perform Background Checks on Visitors.

By Nora Froeschle, Tulsa World, Okla.

Feb. 11–When a security system turns 100, it might be time to think about a new one.

That is what Roger C. Wright, executive administrator at Jenks Public Schools, says about the school district’s move to place LobbyGuard units at all Jenks school sites beginning Feb. 22.

By the end of March, each school site’s lobby will have a unit that resembles an ATM to perform instant background checks on all visitors to the school.

Incidents of school violence are rare, according to a joint study published in 2005 by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education.

And the violence that does occur in schools is more often committed by students than by intruders, according to the study’s findings, which are available at the DOJ’s Web site, www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

But it only takes one intruder who commits a violent act or sexual assault to devastate a community. A series of school shootings in the U.S. last fall made Jenks administrators reconsider their visitor tracking system — the old sign-in book.

“It got us thinking we need to look at ways to better control who’s coming in and out,” Wright said.

A 60-day trial using one LobbyGuard at two Jenks schools in the fall went well, and the district decided to use the system at all sites, he said.

Dean Burke, a consultant with GAO Consultants Inc., worked with school administrators on behalf of LobbyGuard, which is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Burke said Jenks is the only school district in Oklahoma to purchase LobbyGuard units for use districtwide.

About 250 schools and some other institutions, including two Homeland Security office buildings, are using the system on the East Coast, Burke said.

“They don’t hesitate to try new technology,” Burke said of Jenks schools.

Parent Nia Stokes said safety is a major concern for her.

“Safety is a factor for anyone,” said Stokes, who has a daughter attending Jenks schools and one who graduated from Jenks High School. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you won’t have a problem (with LobbyGuard).”

Wright said the district also is starting a new initiative called “If you see something or hear something, say something.”

It consists of a schoolwide campaign using posters, large magnetized signs and other literature to encourage students to report anything unusual.

Some students were aware of the shooters’ threats to carry out a violent act at Columbine High School in 1999, but no one said anything, Wright said.

“If you see something or hear something, say something” will help students report things even if they are afraid to do so because they might be wrong or look silly to school officials, he said.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Tulsa World, Okla.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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