Tardy lockouts don’t make Bullard High School safe

Bullard High School has implemented a response to the problem of safety on its campus following the highly publicized attack on a teacher by a student.

After that attack, many Bullard teachers took the rather extraordinary step of speaking out regarding their safety concerns on campus. They spoke out for themselves and their students, most of whom are not disruptive, aggressive or dangerous. They deserved a careful and conscientious response from administration.

So, what did they get? Well, Bullard has a new tardy policy. There are tardy sweeps every period, with punishments for relatively few infractions. Teachers are required to lock their doors when the bell rings.

Any student not inside his or her assigned classroom must go to the attendance office to obtain a pass to class. Students are missing valuable learning time and likely disrupting their classes more than if they had their tardy status logged by their classroom teachers.

I would love to salute Bullard’s administration for a fabulous display of critical thinking leading to a logical and, hopefully, effective response to the problem identified by the teachers, modeling of lessons being a great way to educate. Instead I am shaking my head. How, exactly, does this address the problem?

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 5:53 AM with the headline "Tardy lockouts don’t make Bullard High School safe."