Wylie ISD creates safety awareness campaign, reminding students & staff to 'close, click, check' doors
WYLIE (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Three words that a North Texas school district believes can go a long way to make its classrooms safer.
Those words are close, click and check.
What happened in Uvalde a year ago this month brought attention to a security risk that schools often struggle with.
Open doors invite trouble in the eyes of former police officer and Wylie ISD Director of Safety and Security Brian Kelly, who found it happening much too often.
"We found just out of convenience and at a different times, doors are being either propped open or as in any mechanical device, some were damaged and have not been reported in a timely manner," Kelly said.
Earlier this year, Kelly created a promotional video and had signs with the words close, click and check placed on every outside door of Wylie's 20 campuses.
It's a reminder for students who might be tempted to let strangers inside or teachers who might prop open a door, not to do it.
"Just something to be on the top of your mind when you come through a door," he said.
Wylie ISD has already had two other school districts show an interest in also adopting awareness campaign that involves only a small cost to pay for the signs.
"I think a lot of schools are looking at different ways to get it in the forefront of people's minds, and this was just something that came to mind for me," Kelly said.
Since the campaign started, Kelly says his security team is already noticing a difference during their daily checks.
Locking outer doors is one of the many lessons learned after Uvalde that this school district believes with a small investment, will make a big difference.