Forget getting dropped off in the back parking lot in the morning.

The start of the 2018-19 school year at Beaver Area High School included some entrance policy changes to make the school safer.

“There was a movement within the community to make our school safer. There was a group of exceptional community members selected for the group led by Dr. Jeff Beltz,” said assistant principal Meghan Murray about the decision-makers behind such changes.

One of the group’s recommendations was to tighten access to the building—a difficult task for a facility with 26 entrance points (not counting all individual doors, just entrances, e.g., office lobby, auditorium lobby, loading dock, etc.).

Now, the doors are not opened until 7:10 a.m. for students entering the building, although passes for meetings with teachers prior to school will be available.

Additionally, as students enter the building they must stay in the lobby or cafeteria area until the 7:25 a.m. bell when they then are released into the hallways.

Students are permitted to enter the building through the auditorium, bell tower, and the bus lane entrances. The bell tower entrance will remain open until 7:40 a.m. every day, but the auditorium doors will be locked at 7:35 a.m.

The entrance policy for visitors has also changed this year: “No visitors will be allowed past the second set of [bell tower entrance] doors unless they have a scheduled meeting [in an effort] to avoid [outside] foot traffic into the building,” Mrs. Murray explained.

“Visitors will also always be escorted by a faculty member through the hallway at all times,” Mrs. Murray said.

Some other recent safety changes also remain in effect. For example, last year students were not allowed to walk outside in between classes in order to enhance school safety. This rule continues this year.

“This change was student-led after the Parkland school shooting last year,” commented Mrs. Murray.

Because of its location, another change is that the athletic office will no longer handle ticket sales or other transactions which require the public to visit the athletic office. The athletic office is situated too far from any primary entrances. That means that in the past athletic office outside visitors could conceivably wander the building unescorted.

“I think the new entrance policies will be good for our safety as a school and as individuals,” commented freshman Sarah Majors.