The numbing disappearance of Portland second-grader Kyron Horman on Friday no doubt sent a shudder through many Clark County school parents.
It also set off alarm bells for the area’s school safety officers.
Thankfully, the county’s largest three school districts already have security measures in place to thwart a possible repeat of whatever transpired at Skyline School, tucked into the hills west of Portland.
Safety officers reached on Tuesday say they’ve reviewed campus procedures and issued staff reminders, just in case. And leaders of two Battle Ground primary schools are pursuing one important policy change.
“That’s a very scary scenario for any school district,” said Scott Deutsch, safety and risk manager for Evergreen Public Schools. “My heart goes out to that family, and that school.”
Automated locking doors; surveillance cameras; prompt telephone calls to alert parents to pupil no-shows: The small, rural Skyline School lacked these modern amenities, Portland school officials said.
In contrast, here’s a rundown of what Evergreen, Vancouver and Battle Ground districts have in place to help protect school students:
• Main entry: All Vancouver and most Evergreen and Battle Ground schools have highly controlled front-door entry. In nearly all cases, locked doors funnel any visitors directly into the main office, where they must sign in (and out) and obtain guest badges.
• Video cameras: Vancouver has almost 450 surveillance cameras aimed at its 33 schools. Battle Ground also has cameras at all schools, but will use federal stimulus-backed bonds to beef up the system within two years, starting in August.
All Evergreen high schools and most middle schools have cameras. Only Endeavour Elementary and two other grade schools (their cost paid by parent-teacher groups) are now equipped, however.
• Student absence phone calls: In all Vancouver district elementary schools, automated telephone calls go to each child’s primary family contact about 45 minutes following the start of the school day. Evergreen elementary school secretaries are to make personal calls, by about 10 a.m.
In Vancouver and Evergreen middle and high schools, automated calls for absences go out about 4:45 p.m. (Vancouver) and 6 p.m., respectively.
Currently in Battle Ground, automated absence calls go to district families, regardless of grade level, at about 6 p.m. (An exception is Glenwood Heights Primary School, which also makes calls about 10:30 a.m., said Principal Eric Hoglund.)
That soon might change: The leader of Daybreak Primary School had already pressed for midmorning calls, now joined by the Tukes Valley Primary School principal, said Gregg Herrington, district spokesman.
There may be technical issues to slow a districtwide change, Herrington cautioned: “Right now, it’s a work in progress,” he said.
Telephone protocols have grabbed much attention in Kyron’s case, since no word of the 7-year-old’s absence came until he failed to meet his stepmother after his bus ride home, nearly seven hours after she dropped him off inside the school.
Overall, Vancouver, Evergreen and Battle Ground school leaders say their campus security is sound. School workers monitor exterior doors, keep watch on visitors and closely supervise recess time and the arrival and departure of young students each day.
At school assemblies or gatherings with many adults present, teachers typically lead students to and from class, separate from the visitors.
Under review
That doesn’t mean officials aren’t double-checking this week.
“We went back and reviewed what we do, and we feel pretty confident we’re in good shape,” said Mick Hoffman, Vancouver district safety director. Staff are reminded to watch for visitor I.D. badges, a message stressed this week for those who will work summer school sessions due to begin later this month, he said.
“It’s on my radar screen,” said Deutsch, of Evergreen. He’s reminded workers who move often between schools they must sign in and out each time, he said.
But comfort only goes so deep.
“The whole thing about Kyron Horman has got every principal, at all levels, thinking and reviewing our school plans,” said Hoglund, the Glenwood Heights leader. “No one wants to see a student go missing and it shakes us to the bone.”
Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.
