In the last year, multiple safety precautions have been put into place at North Platte High School. They have installed an entry buzzer at the front entrances, closed campus for juniors, and barricaded the stairs to the balcony, to name a few. “We just want to make the school safe without making it overbearing,” said Principal James Ayres.

The buzzer was put in last year, and at the time, our school was the only one in the district without this feature. A newer change was also closing campus for juniors. This was mainly because it would mean that there would be less people in and out. Ayres said that they allow seniors to leave for lunch since they should be given more freedom.

The school has also cut off use of the balcony before and after school and during lunches. “That was because kids could throw things off, and there was more chaos up there than anything else,” said Ayres.

Ayres said that they’re always hearing things like, “What can you do to make the school safer?” He believes that it needs to be a joint effort between the students and teachers. “If you have kids leaving through all the different doors, propping doors open, and other things, it’s the kids themselves that are making the school unsafe,” he said.

Ayres hopes that they make the school safe because kids need to feel safe in school. He said,“We’re going to do what we can to make the school safe. But if what’s on the inside doesn’t change, it doesn’t matter what we put on the outside.”