New School Security Measures in Place

Thousands of Port Washington students returned to class Monday, as school officials put new security measures into action.

In evaluating and strengthening security protocols, the district worked with the Board of Education-approved emergency preparedness committee, the district safety committee, BOCES consultants, and Port Washington and Sands Point police, according to a letter by School Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Mooney that is posted on the district website.

The new changes include:

• Four additional security aids patrolling the elementary and middle school
• Completion of the information booth on Campus Drive
• Installation of buzzer-entry systems in the elementary schools; establishment of high school and middle school procedures are under way
• Purchase of “Scholarchip,” a new visitor-access management system

Scholarchip, a computerized system that scans all the drivers’ licenses of all visitors to the district’s building, will flag visitors who appear on publically accessible sex offender database. With this system, the district will also maintain a database of all visitors to the building.  The system will also print a visitor pass complete with photo ID.

Visitors will be asked to scan their license each time they visit a building.

For visitors without driver’s licenses, the district will make available at each building forms for non-driver identification through the Department of Motor Vehicle. That information is also available here. 

All school visitors are asked to arrive early as the new system is being implemented.

The district moved forward with the new measures after the community approved the 2013-14 school budget in May. 

Check back with Patch for more updates.