school entrance

Virginia Elementary School Receives Security Overhaul

Through an $85,000 state safety grant, Van Pelt Elementary School in Virginia is going through a security overhaul, adding a vestibule for visitors to enter the school.

  • By Sherelle Black
  • November 27, 2019

A more than 40-year-old elementary school in Bristol, Virginia has been able to complete a security overhaul through the use of an $85,000 state safety grant.

Visitors trying to enter Van Pelt Elementary School will be met with a hefty security plan.

“Instead of having the one layer of security, we have three layers of security so if somebody accidentally gets through the first layer, they still have to get through two more layers before they can ever have access to our students or our staff,” said Superintendent Keith Perrigan to WJHL.

“We have a buzz-in system on the front door, we’ll have bulletproof glass, we’ll have a steel reinforced wall that folks will have to come into as well, said Perrigan. “Then, you will also have a second buzzer to get into the main office. Then, you’ll have to be buzzed back out of the office again to get access to the school.”

Additionally, the main office was moved from the middle of the campus to the front, and more security cameras were added.

“Our top priority as a school board and as a division is to make sure first and foremost that our schools are as safe as they can possibly be,” Perrigan says. “Once you take care of that, then you can start working on the relationships and the curriculum and the instruction, those things that are paramount to learning.”

About the Author

Sherelle Black is a Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

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