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Salem-Keizer announces weapon detection, door restrictions and phone-pouch pilot at high schools
Summary
A district staff member announced this month that Salem-Keizer Public Schools will install weapon detection at main high school entrances, limit student phone use with a six-school pouch pilot, and restrict the number of open doors at high schools to improve safety.
A staff member for Salem Keizer Public Schools announced this month that the district will add weapon detection at the main entrances of its comprehensive high schools, limit student cell phone use through a six-school pouch pilot and reduce the number of available entrances and exits at high schools to improve safety and learning conditions.
The staff member said the changes are “proactive” and “decisive,” and aimed at improving “the conditions for teaching, learning, and safety.” The district identified the high schools targeted for weapon-detection systems as South, McNary, West, North, McKay and Sprague.
District officials also introduced a pilot to limit student phone use during the school day. “Last week, we announced the implementation of cell phone limits during the school day with 6 of our schools introducing pouches that cell phones will go into so that they are no longer a distraction during the learning day,” the staff member said. The district said the phone-pouch trial is intended to help teachers focus on instruction and students focus on learning.
On building access, the staff member noted the scale of the challenge at large high schools and said the district will move to a managed set of entrances. “Most of our high schools have over 70 doors, and there needs to be a plan for every single 1 of them and their safe use,” the staff member said. Under the new approach, students and staff will use a limited number of designated entrances and exits.
The announcement also emphasized efforts to reduce fear associated with lockdown procedures. The staff member said the district is "working with students and staff to improve their experience during lockdowns" and aims to both improve safety and "reduce the fear and uncertainty that we know lockdowns create." Families of high school students were told they will receive more information about implementation timelines in the coming months.
The district framed the measures as part of a careful rollout: implementing the changes "well" and in ways that respect each school community's particular needs. No vote or formal board action was recorded in this transcript; the remarks were presented as an announcement of planned measures and next steps.
