Does Providence Have a Strategy to Make Schools Safe?
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Providence City Councilman Jim Taylor says the city’s current investment in school safety — in conjunction with keeping the buildings “warm, safe, and dry” — is not “nearly enough” as public safety officials met with City Council members this week to discuss school safety, with the start of the 2019-2020 school year just seven weeks away.
The Providence City Council Special Committee on Public Safety, chaired by Taylor, met Monday to address “School Safety Plans” — and reports on Providence schools conducted prior to the scathing Johns Hopkins report which identified significant safety issues in the city’s public school system.
While schools lack safety, tens of thousands of dollars were invested to install a comprehensive security system in Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza's office.
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“And of that $20 million, I’d say 90% of that will be for things such as roofs and toilets,” said Taylor of the city’s overwhelming need to tackle school repairs. “And I don’t know which schools they’re doing first.”
READ: See the Full Johns Hopkins Report HERE
The Hopkins report identified significant safety issues including fights, bullying, and gangs. According to one teacher, “I had 12 gang members in my classroom who ended up being arrested. Nobody had warned me.”
“In three schools, our team was told by multiple students about ‘arranged fights’ ‘often involving girls’ that took place ‘especially on Fridays’ and that were ‘actively promoted on social media,’” stated Hopkins in their report.
“School culture is broken, and safety is a daily concern for students and teachers,” said Hopkins.
3M Window Film, Single Points of Entry
Taylor acknowledged that the meeting did not specifically address the Hopkins report, as his committee had a limited scope pertaining to the city’s budget — and investments.
According to Taylor, Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements discussed safety measures taken in the prior school year — including the investment of “3M” film on school windows to make them impact-resistant — and what can be accomplished in the coming year.
Taylor said that Clements told council members that the previously conducted school safety reports — completed in 2018 — will be shared with council members in the coming weeks.
For the coming school year, Taylor said a major emphasis will be on securing “single point of entries” at schools — of which public safety officials said “one” school currently met the criteria they are looking to implement at all Providence schools.
“They said one school [currently] has a single checkpoint -- what that means is visitors having direct access or directions to one central check-in location,” said Taylor. “If the main area is used as the check-in area, it should be enclosed to protect staff and limit access to visitors from roaming around the office and possibly accessing [more of] the school.”
“[Clements] said some schools are easier due to office location,” said Taylor. “I got the sense they want to do all of them of this year. I wanted to know which schools. Classical, for the main office you’ve got to go [well into] the building. They did talk about moving offices closer to the door. At Reservoir [Elementary School], you have to go upstairs to the office.”
Cameras — and New Gates
Taylor said that at the high schools, that public safety is planning on putting in gates on Fricker Street in Providence, which cuts between the campuses of Providence Career and Technical Academy (PCTA) and Classical and Central High Schools.
In September 2018, 15-year-old William Parsons was shot and killed outside of PCTA.
“I’ve advocated for having that entire street shut down, so that it’s more like a campus quad,” said Taylor. “It’s not just the students — there are a lot of people there in that area of the city.”
Taylor said the issues of more lighting — and cameras — were discussed for the coming year, but that one item — that several dozen community members turned out to protest — is currently not being considered.
“I’m not sure where this rumor of metal detectors got started, I wouldn’t want to even bring it up,” said Taylor. “There are a lot of other areas we need to address.”
“I felt comfortable [there are school safety reports] and we have to be proactive,” said Taylor. “We can’t be reactive. It’s a start. Will it fix the problems by the end of the school year? No. But it’s a start.”