Visitors to Lewis County High School next fall will have a new way to enter the school, as the Lewis County Board of Education on Monday approved the purchase and installation of a "man-trap" system.
The board accepted the bid of $28,413 from March-Westin, a Morgantown-based company. School administrators had expected the cost of the system to run as high as $75,000, and Superintendent Joe Mace said he was pleased to see the winning bid come in so far below the budgeted amount. He said the school board will pay 15 percent of the cost, and the remaining 85 percent will come from a Safe Schools grant.
The system will be similar to what is already in place at Robert L. Bland Middle School. Visitors have only one entrance door, and a corridor that will be constructed allows them only to enter the main office. The system would also allow for the person entering the school to be secured within the framework of the man-trap if those in the main office had reason to fear for their own or a student's safety.
"When you go in, you can't get back out until you come to the office," Mace said.
Lewis County High School principal Tim Derico said people entering the school without first registering at the main office has not been a major problem at the school, but added he wants to prevent any problem from happening.
"It will provide for the safety of our kids," he said. "That's what it's all about."
Derico said there will still be two sets of double doors available for exiting the school, but those doors would not be available for entering the building. Students who arrive late to school would have to go through the man-trap system before being allowed to head to class.
The high school's Local School Improvement Council also met with the Board of Education on Monday, and Derico thanked the school board for the support the school has seen over the past year. The school gymnasium is in the final stages of being wired for sound, and that system will be available for graduation ceremonies and athletic events shortly.
The school has also been renovated to have dry-erase boards in lieu of traditional chalkboards. Derico said the classrooms have seen a "noticeable difference. It's much cleaner."
He also thanked the school board for supporting the classroom teachers.
"The instructional support our teachers get is unmatched," he said. "These teachers want for nothing. The teachers have the resources and technology they need."
Derico did lament the fact that the school failed for the second year in a row to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards set by the WESTest. He said the students showed improvement in nearly every category, even topping the improvement shown by students across West Virginia. But he said the new test raised the score levels, as a requirement that every student meet the "Mastery" level by 2012 draws nearer.
The test is scheduled for next week, and Derico said the teachers have worked on ways to better prepare the students for the test.
"We are in hopes that we will have a celebration in the fall for meeting AYP," he said.
