On Friday, April 11, the State College Police Department, with the assistance of SCASD’s administration, began investigating allegations of a credible threat against State High scheduled for April 21. An arrest was made, and the school implemented metal detectors at doorways and bag checks as school safety precautions. 

SCASD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Bucher further detailed this process. 

“The school had received information from a concerned citizen and we collaborated with the local police, the State College Police, on what our response would be as far as the school and what their response would be as far as the police,” Bucher said.

On Monday, April 14, metal detectors were used for the first time. Additional security measures were taken as faculty and staff worked together to search students’ backpacks, and an increased presence of law enforcement and security personnel were on campus. On the first day, students were arriving in their classrooms as late as 9:45 a.m., with lines of students waiting to get inside extending far from the school.

Prior to the threat, SCASD only owned two metal detectors, so trying to get the whole student body through the detectors in a timely manner proved to be a challenge. Bucher put it simply, “2400 students at State High, 300 students at Delta, two machines were not enough.” 

To help solve this problem, the school district borrowed three extra metal detectors from Penn State, which helped smooth the process for students arriving at school. Numerous school board members expressed their gratitude to Penn State for loaning the district these additional detectors.

After a week of successful functioning of the security measures, the SCASD School Board meeting on Monday, April 21, brought changes. 

At the beginning of the meeting, SCASD Superintendent Curtis Johnson shared a security update that was later sent out via email to the SCASD community. The update included reassurances that there was no active safety threat to State High.

“Because law enforcement continues to inform us that they have no evidence of an active threat against our schools, we will return to our normal arrival protocols tomorrow, without metal detectors,” Johnson said.

Despite this remark, many community members spoke during the public comment section of the meeting in support of metal detectors staying in use for an extended period of time, one being State High math teacher and SCAEA President Shai McGowan. 

McGowan mentioned that although teachers have their own opinions, she has not received one comment against the continued use of metal detectors, and the general response has been in favor of it. McGowan spoke about why she shares this view and has continually advocated for it.

“I think it’s the overall safety of our students,” McGowan said. “It’s a fundamental right for students to know that they’re going to be safe when they attend school and that is just one way of ensuring safety.”

In a time like this, student safety has been at the forefront of the minds of the district, so many questioned whether students skipping school if they felt unsafe would be acceptable.

In a Q&A document released by the district, SCASD Communications cleared this up, noting, “Anyone who indicated that they missed school on April 14 because of safety concerns will be given an excused absence using a special ‘safety code.’ Starting April 15, students have had to provide a parent excuse for absences to be excused.” 

To help ensure that students and staff do feel safe inside the school, State High has been offering mental health services throughout the school day. The Q&A document elaborated on the details of these services.

“During the school day, counselors are available for students who need to talk to someone. Students may go to the counseling office at any time throughout the day. For our faculty and staff at the high school, we offered a dedicated space where they could go for help or to talk with someone,” SCASD Communications wrote.

McGowan also brought up an interesting, but potentially unsettling, question that another teacher introduced to her.

“Do [school] IDs have the year on them? Because if they don’t have the year on them, then that means anybody that has attended here, whether they still attend here or have graduated, can get into the building with an ID because we’re not looking at the year,” McGowan said.

The fact that any past student could potentially enter the school is especially off putting because the individual that was arrested was a former State High student and could have possibly gotten access to an old ID.

Also at the April 21 meeting, the board unanimously approved a motion to purchase three new metal detectors and accessories for a price deemed “not to exceed $54,348.00.” According to the motion, “The devices would allow the administration to add an additional layer of physical safety and security on an as needed basis to multiple locations.” 

As another effort to improve the overall safety of State High, Student Safety Ambassadors and Student Government are partnering. Sophomore Student Safety Ambassador Sophia Seidel shared about a potential fundraiser that could be coming up in the next few weeks.

“We are planning on having a fundraiser to implement curtains in the windows of classrooms so that every classroom has blackout curtains to stay safe in case of a lockdown,” Seidel said. 

According to Bucher, the security measures that will be used in the future are still “to be determined,” and SCASD administration continues to collaborate with students, teachers, community members, and the school board on this issue. A roundtable discussion for students to interact with school board members and administration is scheduled for May 8 in the Black Box during all lunches. 

“Those discussions will culminate together to determine what our next steps are as far as implementing additional layers of safety,” Bucher said.

Although the future is uncertain, people must recognize how the SCASD community has stepped up at every level to help keep our school safe. From teachers helping to check bags at entrances in the morning to administrators working with law enforcement to formulate quick plans of action, SCASD is fortunate to have a community that comes together to ensure the safety of one another.