Door Unlocking and Building Security

Building Security and Door Locking within ElkIslandPublicSchools

The safety of students and staff is of paramount importance to Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS). To improve safety and security in schools, the Division has implemented a new initiative to keep student safety and learning a top priority. For some schools, this new division wide process aligns with current practice, for other schools it will be something new.

Effective for the start of the 2024-25 school year, all school exterior doors, including the front door, will remain locked during operation hours and opened for student access during specific school entry times.

Students will enter and exit the school using their designated doors, and parents/caregivers will continue to meet their children outside their dismissal doors.

Students who arrive after the entry bell—as well as parents/caregivers, volunteers, school visitors and other guests—will be welcomed into the office through the front door after ringing the front doorbell/video-monitored intercom entry system. The visitor sign-in protocol at schools remains the same as it has been in the past: upon arrival, all visitors must report to the school office and sign in.

The video-monitored intercom entry system will enable office personnel to determine who’s at the door and admit arrivals without having to leave the front desk. The video camera will display the individual’s image on a screen in the office, and once admitted, the individual will sign in at the office as they have in the past. This new procedure enables staff to know who’s in the building and helps prevent trespassers from entering the premises. Students will continue to come and go from the school at the start and end of the day and at recess and lunch as they have in the past. Parents, caregivers and volunteers are still welcome and appreciated for your visits to and involvement with the school.

We ask that families please assist school staff with reminding your children, for safety reasons, not to open any locked doors for individuals attempting to enter the school. When the doors are locked, all individuals must approach the front door and follow the new procedures.

For extracurricular, after-hours or community use, one designated door will be unlocked for the applicable times as specified in the agreement when the space is booked.

Refer to the new Administrative Procedure 538: Building Security and Door Locking on the Division website for more information. These changes are one more step EIPS is taking to support the ongoing safety and wellbeing of everyone in Division schools. If you have any questions about the new procedure, contact the school directly.