With over 323 violent incidents reported in schools nationwide in 2024, safety has become a pressing concern for school communities. As politicians remain at a stalemate on finding a more permanent solution, it is up to schools to figure out how to keep their students safe. Longfellow has focused on creating the safest possible environment over the past few years, and continues to improve school security.
Many students recognize the concern regarding their safety at school, but not everyone. Some kids at this age are careless when it comes to following rules, leading to negative consequences that can affect their classmates.
“I think that the safety regulations are crucial to FCPS schools, especially for students at this age because they are developing,” 7th grade student Yuna C. said.
Safety and Security Assistant Mr. Samson plays a large role in maintaining safety at our school. His responsibilities include overseeing all safety protocols, from running fire drills to managing risks in the hallways.
“Safety concerns us as a whole community because when an incident happens, it also affects bystanders’ emotional state or ability to function in school,” Mr. Samson explained. “For example, if a student sees one of their peers get hurt.”
In addition to Mr. Samson, Longfellow has other adults monitoring the hallways, including our School Resource Officer (SRO). SROs are law enforcement officers assigned to schools to protect students and ensure that safety protocols and laws are upheld. Officer Pierce, the SRO at Longfellow Middle School, shared her thoughts on school security.
“If we could make sure that students aren’t opening the doors for people or placing rugs to keep the door open, I think that’d really help,” Officer Pierce said.
She also acknowledged the positive aspect of these rules. “I’m sure both students and teachers feel safe knowing we have cameras, radios to communicate with, locked doors, and SROs in every school so even people coming in can see there’s a police officer at the school.”
While school staff like Mr. Samson and Office Pierce work tirelessly to keep us safe, some students feel as if the rules can be overreaching.
Longfellow 8th grader James O. described some of the safety rules as “harsh and overbearing.”
“Most of them make sense because most of the rules are supposed to help students with safety, but rules like the AirPod policy can be overbearing because it prevents the total use of AirPods,” James O. said. FCPS restricts AirPods because they can be an unsafe distraction in and outside of class. If, for example, a student isn’t paying attention because they have AirPods in the hallway, they could run into someone and injure themselves and others.
Another source that helps ensure everyone clearly understands the rules is the Longfellow Student Handbook. The handbook provides detailed information from the phone policies to lockdown drills. This can help students and staff understand procedures and how our school operates as a whole. Additionally, FCPS has a dedicated safety and security section located on their student website. The website has a safety tip line that you can call incase of an event.
Students and teachers appreciate the policies and rules set in place here at Longfellow. Safety rules play a vital role in maintaining a safe community for all students. Despite ongoing challenges, Longfellow staff are doing their best to keep our community safe.
