Request for Proposal Paper and Presentation

School Profile and Observations

East Boston High School (EBHS), located within a residential area at 86 White Street in East Boston, Massachusetts, is one of twenty-seven high schools in the Boston Public School System. The school has a student population of 1,372 pupils in grades nine through twelve; seventy-one percent of the students are economically disadvantaged. According to U.S. News (2016), “The student body makeup is 54 percent male and 46 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 83 percent” (East Boston High School). The school employs three full-time high school police officers, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and an officer. The officers’ duties include:

• School emergency and crisis preparedness planning

• Security crime and violence prevention policies and procedures

• Physical security measures including access control, communications capabilities, intrusion detection systems, perimeter security, and physical design

• Professional development training needs relating to school safety and emergency planning (East Boston High School, 2016)

Recent police raids around Boston resulted in thirty-seven arrests and revealed a strong gang influence, notably MS-13. Parents of the high school’s students have expressed concern about pressure for the children to join the group. Three students have died from gang related activity since September 2015.

Authorities of the Boston Public School System hired a private consultant to perform a security assessment of East Boston High School. The evaluation covered the following areas: perimeter, exterior, and internal security. The team also reviewed emergency procedures.

Perimeter

The school’s borders consist of White Street to the South, Brook Street to the West, a school driveway to the North that merges with a parking lot to the East. A three foot iron fence exists, but it is mostly decorative; the driveway has a lockable gate, but the parking lot does not. Trees line the north and east perimeters forming an aesthetic barrier between the campus and residences. Eight lights run along all sides of the school, three of the lights are inoperable.

Exterior

The campus has bollards along the walkway's west entrance that block vehicle access to the doorway and grassy areas. The school employs one surveillance camera at the main entrance (south), one camera at the parking lot entrance (east), and one camera at an entrance on the north side. The entries consist of standard doors with shatter-resistant glass and emergency exits consist of solid metal fire doors that only open outward. All entries contain continuity sensors that sound an audible alarm and send a signal to the security system console when the door opens during after hours. Windows have vibration sensors that will activate if breakage occurs or when the window opens after police arm the security system.

Interior

EBHS police maintain a security office adjacent to the teacher’s lounge. The room houses the alarm monitoring system, CCTV monitors, and video recording system. The video system consists of three exterior cameras and twelve cameras located in the hallways. EBHS police post at the main entrances during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. There are eleven passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors within the facility located near entry and egress points; there are no PIRs inside the classrooms. The city of East Boston contracts after hours alarm monitoring with a private company.

Emergency Procedures

The staff conducts regularly scheduled evacuation drills in compliance with state and city ordinances. The school police maintain lockdown/active shooter procedures and conduct drills; however there have been no exercises with local police and Boston response teams. Furthermore, only a small number of doors are reinforced.

References

East Boston High School. (2016). Retrieved from http://ebhsjets.net/apps/staff/

Ramos, N. (2016). Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/13/east-boston-pinched-between-progress-and-pain/Gw5VvFpseF1uW6KLGUiyIN/story.html

U.S, News. (2016). Retrieved from http://East Boston High School. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/massachusetts/districts/boston-public-schools/east-boston-high-school-9291