Safety Audit Results
The General Audit Report on School Safety was published on December 9, 2024 and focused primarily on the Emergency Business Plan (EOPS) through reviews of selected charter and district schools in Arizona (and Arizona Department of Education, Emergency Military Affairs, Arizona State University).
The audit found a gap in the way schools implement their EOPs.
“None of the school’s emergency business plans we reviewed fully met the state’s minimum EOP standards, and according to the report’s introduction, the schools we reviewed were not fully implemented and tested. Additionally, student safety could enhance efforts to provide guidance to schools, review and update minimum EOP standards, monitor compliance, and monitor emergency responders.”
One section of the report analyzed physical infrastructure based on audit auditor staff conducted on 47 school campuses across the state. Staff looked at potential areas of concern, such as “Accepted visitor access procedures are not always present or effective.”
“We observed that almost every school that visited had established security measures to prevent unauthorized access to the area where students are located, including requiring visitors to check in at the central office,” the report said. “However, some schools have had the steps and processes to restrict access that were not effective and they have access to campus without checking in.”
The Arizona School Facilities Commission website contains documents containing school safety recommendations regarding physical buildings.
This was the result of a nationally recommended best practice review with input from law enforcement, school security experts, the education sector and more.
The report cites a national program called CPTED, or crime prevention through environmental design. Emphasis on three functions used in school design: access control, nature surveillance, and territorial strengthening. The layout conveys a sense of boundaries, as the end means designing the school’s campus.
The ideal school campus explained that it has several layers of security to prevent potential risks.
“The recommended approach is the outer layer of campus perimeter security. The second layer, a controlled entry point. And finally, the classroom security layer if the perpetrator reaches a complete campus violation.”
A safe entrance
The placement of the administrative office in a properly marked location in front of the school was one of the 11 recommendations made in that document, achieving CPTed functionality and preventing visitors from wandering around campus in search of an office.
“The ideal configuration for school security is to create a single entry point to campus after school day begins,” he added, adding that all other access points must be protected and the main entrance should be a secure front yard.
That means having an entrance with doors trapped at each end. Facilities Commission documents recommend that these entrances have “a window for administrative personnel to identify all visitors and a single entry into the management area via access control doors.”
Justin Dinaldi, former FUSD operations director, explained the district’s approach in a similar way (this was in September; he later left the district for another role).
At FUSD schools, students pass through the main door. The main doors will be unlocked and staffed as the school opens that day, but remain locked for school hours.
Entry to the school is only permitted through this main entrance, with all other external doors to the school building being locked up during school hours.
For schools with modular classrooms, Dinaldi said the school will unlock during the period of time it passes and will turn staff doors into doors, but will continue to lock for the rest of the school.
On each school’s website, the public reception area is accessed by an isolated entrance leading to the managed area. Each school has a paging system linked to video cameras and intercoms, allowing desk people to see and talk to anyone seeking entry before unlocking the door. Once inside, FUSD School must sign in to all visitors.
Dinaldi said the system is set up so that people can stop access to the school at the main entrance.
“It’s really just controlling who’s coming in beyond our external door,” he said. “If you’re going to meet someone, there’s effectively a way to meet you before we bring you.”
He said that this type of entrance has been converted into all school buildings at FUSD following an engineering and construction review. For schools with high ceilings, Dinaldi said all they need to do is add a partition wall, while other schools need to move the walls and bring the admin center closer to primary access.
Base Charter School also has this style of front yard entrance, and Flagstaff has been around since the building was built in 2011.
This has been “one of the best practices for school safety and security for several years,” says Bob Earthpamer, head of school safety and security at all-based schools. “…it’s just one of those extra layers.”
He said that each basic school conducts regular assessments using both the national CSTAG (Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines) and CPTED standards, and that basic instructors will work with school administrators to address any vulnerabilities found.
The charter school also uses a screening process called Raptor Visitor Management.
“We’re a closed campus, so unless staff or fingerprint clearance is done, anyone will step into the campus and accompany the building as a visitor with an appointment,” said school principal Kelly Hinze.
Both she and erspamer mentioned the importance of “human factors” in addition to physical safety when it comes to school safety, as well as FUSD.
Building relationships to prevent violence on school campus is key, according to the district.
A statement from the district sent by the Flagstaff Police Station (FPD) said that most violent incidents at FUSD were due to current differences in opinion among students, but added that they could not speak to national trends.
“In surveys, more than three people had prior knowledge in 80% of school violence cases,” the statement said. “By promoting strong connections, students are more likely to confide in trustworthy adults and share their concerns using tools like anonymous alert reporting apps, helping to prevent potential violence.”
We also referred to layers of protection. In this case, we refer to the combination of school buildings and emergency training ensuring violence prevention.
Northland Preparatory Academy (NPA) Principal Jay Litwicki said his school emphasizes the relationship between safety measures by developing a positive school culture. He said most incidents of school violence come from people already associated with the school.
“The number one of my all training for NPA and school safety is having an active school culture,” he said. “…We’re a school with a small class size. I think it’s safe to say that every child in school has an adult who can speak comfortably during times of crisis.”
The NPA currently has side doors locked, but does not maintain the main entrance to any building on campus during the school day. The NPA is in the process of adding a third building for steam education, and it is unclear whether it has a safe entrance. According to Litwicki, the building was designed with security in mind, but he said he was not one to ask for details.
“Students move between buildings,” he said. “They have to do it all the time, they always do it.”
He added: We have a door secretary for people signing in and signing out, but no automatic doors with buttons to push them to open. All secretaries have a panic button on their desks. …We have a lot of doors, and it’s a huge expense and, like I said, the best thing you can do for your school is to have a positive culture. ”
Modular Campus
Other local schools have campuses with several modular buildings where students travel during the school day.
The Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (FALA) is in the annual process of reviewing safety plans. Jennifer Netzkey, director of student support services, said the school “follows research-based practices and does its best to train students and staff in those practices.”
