Keeping Students' Possessions Secure

“In recent years, the dollar value of items that students are bringing to school has gone up,” says Kevin McCarthy, commercial product manager for Oak Creek, Wis.-based Master Lock. “In addition to their books, musical instruments and cell phones, they’re bringing tablets and lap tops which, if stolen, are expensive to replace.”

To that end, parents and students need confidence that the items brought to school are appropriately secured in students’ lockers. Well-built locks offer that assurance. “Providing locks and ensuring that they are in good repair,” says McCarthy, “is a community effort within the school district. It includes upper-level administrators, principals, vice principals and teachers. Everyone must be on the same page as to the security level they’re offering students.”

Locker locks may be physically small but, in terms of the security they offer, they’re large. “Locks are an important school feature that are sometimes overlooked because they’re a lower-value item,” McCarthy says. “But they are not to be overlooked because they keep high-value items safe. It’s not a good thing for a student to have to go home and report that his or her $1,500 lap top was stolen.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

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