EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – East Lansing public school leaders said they have considered more than 24 safety recommendations after a state-funded school safety review earlier this year.
The community learned what changes the district is making at the high school Monday night on the heels of two shelter-in-place orders in one week, and a student walk-out.
Many parents said they are still concerned with communication between the district and the community.
“Every night, I’ve been praying with him. Every morning I pray, I pray with him on the way to school. It’s just really an uneasy feeling being worried and have your child worried as well going to school,” said Parent Deborah Rivas.
Rivas said returning to in-person learning has been hard for her and her son, who’s a junior at East Lansing High School. She was one of more than a hundred parents at the district’s special meeting on safety.
Officials announced the meeting after two weeks of fights and shelter-in-place orders.
New security procedures include reminding students of district safety policies, one door for student entry into the high school, staff will check bathrooms and hallways frequently before and during class and more supervision will be brought in during sporting events.
SEE MORE: East Lansing students organize walkout to protest violence
Superintendent Dori Leyko said as the district reviews other policies, she stressed the need for community input and more changes could be coming down the road, including additional metal detectors, changes to the cell phone and backpack policy and even bringing in a school resource officer.
“By listening to you and including those recommendations, many of the recommendations we heard, and getting the opportunity to get stakeholder feedback prior to determining whether moving forward with pursuing some of these,” said Leyko.
While school administrators encouraged the community to express their thoughts through an ongoing survey, many parents brought their criticisms to the board directly.
Some called for better communication, others like this parent saying there’s a need to improve classroom culture.
” We celebrate them for these wins but do we teach them how to win? Collectively?” one parent said.
