Frisco Enterprise > News
Frisco ISD security ‘ahead of the curve’
By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer
School safety lead auditor Paul Lupia has witnessed much in his 40 years as an educator, counselor, administrator, and emergency planner, but Frisco ISD still managed to impress him with some innovative security measures.
Lupia conducted an independent audit of all Frisco ISD schools and facilities over the past year and concluded that the school district is being proactive in protecting its students.
“Frisco is ahead of the curve,” Lupia told the school board at its regular meeting Monday night. “You have some innovative things already in your program that I have not seen [before].”
He said that Frisco ISD is well ahead of the other school districts he is auditing, and the access control system at each campus is something that he had never seen before, even after scrutinizing 75 other school districts. He also praised the district for its bus safety measures.
The report also commended Frisco ISD for using networked surveillance cameras, placing parking attendants at all high school campuses, and making an anonymous tip line available to students, staff and parents at all times.
The 13 commendations outweighed the four recommendations for improvement. Both types of feedback are required on all audits.
Lupia concluded that Frisco ISD may become safer by conducting unannounced visitor drills, requiring maintenance personnel to sign in and out when performing work, formalizing a debriefing process after an emergency, and having campus principals keep records of drills and practices.
The auditors used four methods for measuring safety and security on each campus. The first step began before they ever set foot on campus.
“Even before I get out of my car I’ve started making some mental notes,” Lupia said.
The auditors observe how students come in and out of school and inspect the traffic flow pattern.
The second security check includes a perimeter walk to check door and portable building safety, followed by an interior safety walk-through to check fire extinguishers and vendor doors, among other things.
Lastly the auditors interviewed individual staff members to get a sense of how prepared teachers are to handle emergency situations in each school.
“When you talk with [teachers] candidly without an administrator present, I thought it was a very good experience,” Lupia said.
Superintendent Rick Reedy said that all of the recommendations were valid and asked for a report at a future meeting on how the schools specifically plan to implement each one.
Lupia conducted an independent audit of all Frisco ISD schools and facilities over the past year and concluded that the school district is being proactive in protecting its students.
“Frisco is ahead of the curve,” Lupia told the school board at its regular meeting Monday night. “You have some innovative things already in your program that I have not seen [before].”
He said that Frisco ISD is well ahead of the other school districts he is auditing, and the access control system at each campus is something that he had never seen before, even after scrutinizing 75 other school districts. He also praised the district for its bus safety measures.
The report also commended Frisco ISD for using networked surveillance cameras, placing parking attendants at all high school campuses, and making an anonymous tip line available to students, staff and parents at all times.
The 13 commendations outweighed the four recommendations for improvement. Both types of feedback are required on all audits.
Lupia concluded that Frisco ISD may become safer by conducting unannounced visitor drills, requiring maintenance personnel to sign in and out when performing work, formalizing a debriefing process after an emergency, and having campus principals keep records of drills and practices.
The auditors used four methods for measuring safety and security on each campus. The first step began before they ever set foot on campus.
“Even before I get out of my car I’ve started making some mental notes,” Lupia said.
The auditors observe how students come in and out of school and inspect the traffic flow pattern.
The second security check includes a perimeter walk to check door and portable building safety, followed by an interior safety walk-through to check fire extinguishers and vendor doors, among other things.
Lastly the auditors interviewed individual staff members to get a sense of how prepared teachers are to handle emergency situations in each school.
“When you talk with [teachers] candidly without an administrator present, I thought it was a very good experience,” Lupia said.
Superintendent Rick Reedy said that all of the recommendations were valid and asked for a report at a future meeting on how the schools specifically plan to implement each one.
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