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 April 2016 issue of School Planning & Management.