Moorestown Friends School students are concerned about vulnerabilities in school security, and the administration should seek out points of concern students may have. The Moorestown Friends Administrative Council needs to have a more open dialogue with the community on school security.
Dozens of students have spoken to WordsWorth in previous stories about discomfort with security levels in the school’s open campus layout. Last year, former head-of-school Larry Van Meter said that the school does not have an official position on teachers discussing security policies with students because “so much of what we do here is informal.”
Informality is the problem. While students may bring up concerns and ideas to their friends or voice them in class, there’s no way for the administration to receive that feedback unless the student goes out of their way to suggest them to the administration. In fact, many students told WordsWorth they do not do so for fear that it might reflect poorly on them.
I urge Head-of-School Julia de la Torre and Director of Finance and Operations Lisa Carbone Warren to hold an off-the-record, lunchtime forum so students can bring suggestions directly to the people who implement them.
Earlier this month, I brought this idea to the student government. Today, Student Government advisor and Associate Head of School Chris Kimberly told the Agenda Committee that while the formation of the forum would need to be approved by Ad Council, the forum must be viewed as a “two-way street,” a chance for administrators to hear student ideas and respond by educating students with what limitations they have. This is a step in the right direction.
Van Meter told families in March 2018 that the school was changing its security plan, but would not share specifics due to confidentiality. In October, de la Torre announced in an email to parents that an independent security audit found MFS to be “very safe.” She said the feedback from the consulting company “was affirming in many ways, yet we are always interested in improving.” Besides new signage and employee identification cards and lanyards, students do not know what other security enhancements were implemented. Carbone Warren and de la Torre should use the forum to communicate with students that their concerns either have already been addressed privately or are being discussed.
The administration has compared the school’s campus to a small college. While true, MFS’s security lacks greatly in comparison. Most college campuses have campus police, a blue-light system and closed-circuit television cameras, all of which MFS is lacking.
While the school is in a safe town, security issues must be approached with appropriate gravity. The safety of our school community is at stake. By hosting these meetings, community members become more invested in ensuring our school is safe. When our strong community, from administration to students, maintains a dialogue on school security, we will be even safer.
Thank you for voicing this important student concern about campus safety. I assure you that the administration reads Wordsworth! The concerns expressed by students through this venue, and others, are always taken into consideration. I understand the desire to want to know more details about our security projects. I encourage you to think about the communications sent to families over the past year from both Mr. Van Meter and Ms. de la Torre that have emphasized how seriously we take campus security. From meeting with local police to hiring a consulting firm to assess our campus security, administration has been working diligently to evaluate recommendations and implement changes to maximize our safety while honoring the culture of the school. This is an ongoing process. I was pleased to hear that this topic was brought up in US Agenda meeting where concerns like this can and should be discussed.