Does your DC preschool

[drako]

Lock the doors during the school day so no one can enter the building? But have the capability of leaving from the inside in the event of fire etc. Just wondering if it is the norm given today's society and some unfortunate events that have happened in schools. Just curious how schools secure and keep the children safe while they are in their care.

[HIU8]

Yes. DD's preschool has an ID card entry system. It's locked from the outside but you can get out from the inside. FWIW, it's in a community center that has a security guard (several) and many many security cameras and concrete cylanders that block a car/truck from coming withing 15 feet of the front door. Since 9/11, since it's a Jewish
Center, all the security has been massively stepped up.

Even DS's school has a keypad entry system and you cannot be let in by anyone (you have to use the keypad or you can't come in). Doors are locked from outside, but you can get out from the inside (all the doors all over the school are like this).

[BabyBearsMom]

DD goes to daycare. When she was at a big center daycare, the doors were locked 24/7. Each parent had a code to get into the building. The doors were unlocked from the inside though for an emergency. Now DD is at a home daycare so it isn't that high tech. As soon as a child arrives, the door is locked and the DCP opens the door for the parents as they arrive. I'm less concerned about DD's safety at an in home daycare because 1) there is no sign out front so people don't know that it is a daycare and 2) there are fewer kids so the teachers can keep track of them more easily IMO.

[wencit]

Nope, none of the 3 preschools we've attended so far have had locked doors. People (mostly moms and kids) are constantly entering and exiting the buildings throughout the day due to staggered start times. We have always lived in suburbs with extremely low crime rates, though. I imagine the case might be different if we lived elsewhere.

[crl]

No. Ds still goes to after school care at his preschool. Anyone can walk in the front door. There is a receptionist, but she never stops anyone and she is often not at her desk anyway. It is one of the few things I don't like about the place. But I love so many other things. . . . .

And my kid would never have gone anywhere with a stranger, way to anxious for that. And the teachers are very good about making sure people sign in and out and that they recognize the person taking a kid out. (Wouldn't help on a day with subs though.)

Catherine

[Pennylane]

Yes, although they just started last year. Now everyone has to go in through one main door, sign in, and take a visitors pass.

The only reason they started this procedure was because of an ugly child custody case that happened last year. Although once they implemented it, I couldn't believe we had gone so long without it!

Ann

[khalloc]

No. But we live in a more rural area. Low crime.

[WatchingThemGrow]

No. It is housed in a church that has a good deal of activity in/out - more community-based stuff than church-based. And there is a small daycare there as well. I occasionally see people walking up to the other doors of the building, putting out their cigarettes, and walking inside. just shocks me every time. I am confident the teachers keep their doors shut and keep an eye out, but they are not in lockdown mode.

[justlearning]

My son's preschool last year (a church preschool), his pre-K this year (at an elementary school), and my older DS's school all have locked doors to the outside although they can be opened from inside. To visit kids at school during the day, parents must be buzzed in, sign in at the front office, and get a visitor badge.

ETA that at my son's preschool housed in a church, the front doors to the church are unlocked but then there are secure doors that remain locked all day that lead to the preschool classrooms.

Schools and churches take security seriously here, even though we live in a low-crime area. At our church, there's always a police officer in front of the church at every service, and only one set of doors that leads past the officer can be opened from the outside. Our church also has certain members in the church who have been trained and who carry a concealed weapon. They implemented these strict security measures a couple of years ago after other churches experienced shootings in their church.

[deborah_r]

Ours is not locked during the day. There are 3 separate buildings so that would be difficult to keep them locked. And I guess the place where it is located (behind a church, residential nieghborhood) kind of makes you feel like it would be an unlikely target. But I know the staff is constantly watching for unexpected visitors to the campus.

There is a very popular large daycare center near where I live, I have used it for evening/weekend care, it happens to be right near the homeless shelter, and it's not a residential area. That place is locked down tight.

[mikeys_mom]

Yes. We have a security guard at the front door for most of the day. We are in a low-crime suburb but unfortunately in the past few years all Jewish schools feel the need for security guards because of an increase in anti-semitic incidents. All parents have ID cards to show the security guard so that you don't have to sign-in at the office. When the security guard is not there, you need to be buzzed in and go sign-in at the office.

[Canna]

Yes. You have to ring the doorbell to be let into the building.

[drako]

I live in a rural community as well that has a low crime rate but I feel that doors of a school should be secured. Here is a story that made national news a few years ago about an Amish school shooting. Doesn't get much more rural than this!

http://www.800padutch.com/amishshooting.shtml

I am really surprised that some schools don't secure the building regardless of crime rate. There are wackos everywhere.

[artvandalay]

Yes. DS's preschool is located inside of a church (but it is not affiliated with the church). They lock doors during the day, you need to get buzzed to be let in. This was one of the things I looked for when I looked at different preschools in the area.

My other DS (in Kindergarten) school is locked and you need to be buzzed in as well.

[WolfpackMom]

Yes, there are two sets of doors, first set you can enter then either use yout family's keypad code to unlock the next set or you can ring the doorbell for someone to come let you in. From there you also have to punch into a computer at dropoff/pickup. We are in a relatively low crime suburb.

[trales]

We have an electronic key that lets parents in.

[MontrealMum]

Yes, they have a keypad entry system. If you don't have the code you have to ring the bell.

[alirebco]

At the beginning of the school year, they gave each family a fob to put on your keychain that opens the door to get inside the school. If you don't have your fob, you have to use the buzzer at the door and someone in the office lets you in.

[boolady]

The outer doors to the lobby are unlocked. From there, you have to be buzzed in through the inside doors.

[marymoo86]

Yes, they have a keypad entry system. If you don't have the code you have to ring the bell.

This is ours.

[maestramommy]

yes, my dds' preschool is actually in our local elementary. since 9/11 they installed door locks. There is a lobby, which is as far as you can go on your own. You then have to be buzzed in by the secretary after stating your business and signing in. I assume the other elementary schools are like this.

I visited 3 private preschools in my area, and they don't have such locks.

[Tammy]

Yes DD's daycare has the front entrance that remains locked from the outside and everyone has to be buzzed into the building.