Page 50 - Security Today, October 2020

By Ralph C. Jensen
Bringing Meaningful Lessons to the Classroom
Iwonder if students have the capability to learn meaningful lessons while COVID is working its way across the nation. From my personal experience, yes, students can par- ticipate in class just fine.
President Trump and his administration said they would “very much put pressure” on states’ governors to reopen schools this fall, even with the coronavirus very much in
an outbreak status.
Every school or school district should be at the heart of making the decision of whether their
schools open, or not. My family has been agonizing over the decision of allowing our First Grader to return to in-person school. Absent the political contest and political opinions, we choose to have our student go to in-person classes. In our school district, classes started Aug. 13.
Our decision was based largely on security and the measures put in place by the school dis- trict, and the individual school’s efforts to keep the facility clean and secure. Unlike previous years, parents were not allowed to walk their student into the facility that first day, yet it seemed as though all went well.
The president offered his opinion about opening schools, and while I don’t necessarily endorse the president, I do agree with this reasoning.
“Our country has got to get back, and it’s got to get back as soon as possible, and I don’t con- sider our country coming back if the schools are closed,” the president added. “Everybody wants it, the moms want it, the dads want it, the kids want it.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced plans for that state to open in August. The governor also highlighted an undeniable truth in Florida since students began returning to classrooms last week: There will be virus casualties. At least three districts soon reported positive coronavirus tests among students or teachers.
In Tampa, the Hillsborough County school board became convinced that reopening right away would lead to so much contagion that the schools would inevitably be forced to close again. But when the school board changed its original reopening plan and elected to begin with four weeks of remote instruction, the state threatened to withhold $200 million in funding.
Addison Davis, the Hillsborough superintendent, drove from Tampa to the state capital in Tallahassee to try to find a compromise, and eventually settled on a plan to offer remote instruc- tion for one week and then open classroom doors on Aug. 31.
I must applaud Texas and our school district for opening schools and in-person learning. They do have a hybrid model where some families have chosen to keep their students at home. Unlike the end of the last school year, some teachers have been assigned for online instruction only. Yes, COVID still works its way through the nation; my thought is students need in-person interaction as well as classroom time.
6 campuslifesecurity.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Editor's Commentary
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief E-news Editor
ART STAFF
Art Director
PRODUCTION STAFF
Production Coordinator
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Ralph C. Jensen Brent Dirks
Laurie Layman
Teresa Antonio
Jeff Karpovich, CPP, CHPA, CSSP, Chief/Director, Security & Transportation, High Point University, High Point, NC
Alison Kiss, Executive Director at Clery Center, Strafford, PA
Mark Kissel, K-12 Chief of Police (Retired); Principle Kissel Consulting LLC, Bethlehem, GA
Greg Klaiber, Director of Emergency Management, Northwestern University, Evanston IL
Joseph Souza, Director of Security and Technology at
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Chief Tom Weitzel, Riverside Police Department, Riverside IL Jennifer Ziffle, Director of Campus Safety,
Technical College System of Georgia, Atlanta, GA
SALES
Sam Baird +44 1883 715 697 Brian Rendine 972-687-6761
INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
President & Group Publisher Editor-in-Chief/
Associate Publisher, Security Group Circulation Director Group Marketing Director Group Website Manager Group Webinar Administrator
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Technology Officer
Executive Vice President
REACHING THE STAFF
Staff may be reached via email, telephone, fax or mail. A list of editors and contact information also is available online at www.campuslifesecurity.com.
E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff, please use the following form: FirstinitialLastname@1105media.com
Dallas Office (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. CT) Telephone (972) 687-6700; Fax (972) 687-6799 14901 Quorum Dr., Suite 425, Dallas, TX 75254
Corporate Office (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PT) Telephone (818) 814-5200; Fax (818) 734-1522
6300 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1150, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Kevin O’Grady
Ralph C. Jensen Irene Fincher Susan May Scott Newhouse Tammy Renne
Rajeev Kapur Sanjay Tanwani Erik A. Lindgren
Michael J. Valenti
saravutpics / Shutterstock.com