John Coffelt, Editor

Each of the three Manchester City Schools has added an impact resistant film that will improve the schools’ security in the event the unimaginable were to happen.

“It’s a laminate. It’s on the inside; it’s glued to the window itself. It makes it like a windshield – even makes it bullet resistant,” said Director of Technology/School Security Mark Howell.

The film provides one-way visibility, providing limited line of site inside the school, but those inside can see out.

The safety film is on the front doors and other key locations throughout the school. It’s one more tool and a strong layer of security.

“For the students, faculty and families, their safety is our first priority,” Director of Schools Dr. Joey Vaughn said, “Our (Board of Education) has been very diligent in going through that. We are working and are very aware of everything that’s going on.”

Howell said that the schools have single point of entry with access control.

“Over the last three years, we have been putting access control on every classroom door,” he said.

Like a hotel keycard lock, these wireless devices prevent only authorized personnel, police, fire and EMS access to the classrooms.

Each school has a dedicated SRO officer. That police coverage is scheduled so that the schools are never without an officer in the building.

Westwood Middle School SRO Alethia Rawn said that “we have someone here that will cover when we leave. This school is never left at any time unattended.”

Westwood Principal Jim Dobson said that the schools are having walkthroughs by Manchester Police and Tennessee Highway Patrol to give the officers who would respond to an event an idea of the school layout, a tactical advantage when minutes are critical.

Assessing the overall security of his school, Dobson is confident that the security is as good as it can be.

Security is an ongoing, ever evolving system. Diligence is key. Students are warned not to open doors for visitors or prop open doors. Administrators make the rounds to ensure that everything secure.

Howell said that the schools stay up on the latest information coming from incident research to see if there are improvements that have been missed.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.