Principal Ms. Marcy Leonard made an announcement reinforcing a past safety policy that students are to enter and exit through the main doors only on January 2nd. Administration has reinforced this policy by placing signs on doors throughout the school building.

Ms. Leonard says the enter and exit policy is nothing new regarding school safety.

“It is all the same expectations we’ve always had,” she said. “It was just time to reinforce and be really clear about those expectations.”

Junior Lilian Droney says it is important that the school is safe from unwanted guests to protect the learning environment.

“[Keeping unwanted guests out] is important for the learning environment to be safe so that students can learn without [disruption],” she said.

Ms. Leonard says the policy had to be reinforced to keep students safe inside the school.

“I don’t want a student of ours opening a door for somebody that they don’t know, and then that person comes in with bad intent,” she said. “To help keep the building secure and keep all of us safe, everybody has to enter through the main door.”

Limiting the doors that can be used by students helps ensure students are in class and learning during school hours, according to Ms. Leonard.

Being in class is important so students receive the education they deserve, according to Ms. Leonard.

For Ms. Leonard, reinforcing policies is a balancing act between safety and freedom for students.

“Safety and security frequently come with constraints and boundaries, and freedom means that we are loosening those constraints and boundaries,” said Ms. Leonard. “It’s a balancing act between providing students the freedom and the opportunity to make choices about the spaces they are in while [trusting] them to follow school rules.”