“If there isn’t a feeling of safety and security on campus, kids aren’t going to learn. They’re not going to feel comfortable there,” Jon Best, the district’s director of student services, said.
Sergeant Daniel Marmolejo doesn’t hesitate when approaching students at Redlands High School—not only because of his friendly and outgoing demeanor, but because during his 20 years working campus safety and security at the school, he has found that building relationships with students is an effective way to keep them safe.
The Redlands Unified School District has six safety and security officers each at Redlands, Redlands East Valley and Citrus Valley high schools. Orangewood High School has a lead security officer and another officer. The middle schools have a lead security person and some monitors who are employed throughout the day. Campus monitors are stationed at the elementary school campuses throughout the day.
Best, who once worked security at Redlands High School, said the district’s officers are well trained. Some, such as Marmolejo, even have prior law enforcement experience.
Out of a group of students, Marmolejo said he can easily spot someone who does not belong.
Best said one of the best things that not only the security officers, but other faculty and staff, can do is establish a rapport with the students.
“Honestly, most young people know something bad might be happening before we adults ever know. They’ll come up and tell the officer, ‘Hey, such and such and is going to go down after school’,” Best said.
TRAINING AND DRILLS
Training and drills at schools have increased since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Best said.
“It was a terrible travesty and I think really, it brought to the forefront the necessity of training and not just talking about drills but actually participating in them and varying the scenarios,” Best said.
Schools will participate in frequent disaster, fire and lockdown drills.
“When you’re little it takes a lot to get used to that,” Best said.
The district’s security personnel and staff will participate in active shooter drills on school campuses with the Redlands Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The security officers and Best all carry radios that are connected to the Redlands Police Department.
Redlands Police Commander Chris Catren said the relationship between the police department and the school district is a partnership.
Best, who was once a Los Angeles Police Officer, said the district’s cooperation and interaction with the Redlands and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s departments is none like he has ever seen.
“It’s really a model, I believe, for what cities and school should be like,” Best said.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Aside from human interaction on campus, another component to school safety is the districtwide surveillance camera system.
Every campus is equipped with surveillance cameras, with live feeds going into the Redlands Police Department Dispatch, and a public address system.
“They even have a PA system so that the police department can talk to someone on campus if they see them doing something they shouldn’t be doing,” Best said.
The district also has metal detectors, but does not use them, Best said.
“If a student or adult wanted to get something on campus, there would be a way to get around that metal detector,” Best said.
Best said the best tools for monitoring what comes on campus is eyes and ears and again, relationships. Students will often tell an adult when another student has a weapon.
“Those are the best ways to prevent something from coming on campus. You just have to have a relationship with kids,” he said.
REDLANDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Officials with Redlands Christian Schools also rely on building relationships with students as a way to keep them safe.
“The biggest thing we’re able to do in a small school setting, based on our admission and based on who we are as a school, is that we take a direct interventionist approach with our students,” said Brian Bell, principal of Arrowhead Christian Academy—the upper school, or high school, with Redlands Christian Schools.
Arrowhead Christian Academy assigns a group of students to a faculty or staff member.
In the upper school, about 10 freshmen are assigned to a teacher, administrator, office staff and even maintenance staff until graduation.
Bell said the school has taken several steps over the past three years to boost campus security, such as installing a surveillance camera system. The campus is also closed, meaning the gates are locked and visitors must check in at the front office. The new middle school, next door to ACA, is completely fenced in. The lower school is also completely fenced in and secure, said Dan Cole, head of schools at Redlands Christian Schools.
Employees at the schools have participated in active shooter training and have had risk assessments done.
The schools do not employ safety and security officers, because they are not necessary. Cole said the students at the school know what their expectations are and manage themselves.
©2015 the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
