After the devastating loss at Sandy Hook Elementary School, curiosity and concern rise in the hearts of families of the Glenview community. However, many of the safety procedures in place at South go unnoticed to the student body. The faculty has consciously made an effort to preserve South’s environment from atrocity.

According to Ronald Bean, dean and assistant principal, it is important to reevaluate the school plan based on the tragedy to see if there is anything the administration is missing.

“We try and make sure that we are being as proactive as we can be to make [our school] the safest place it can be,” Bean said.

Principal Brian Wegley explained that at the start of the school year, the district decided to update all the safety procedures.

“[South safety] is constantly on the [administration’s] mind, even before the Sandy Hook incident,” Wegley said.

Wegley believes this is why cautionary procedures like signing in and out of school, as well as fire, tornado and lockdown drills, are in place and taken very seriously.

Paraprofessional Catherine Furse explained some of the changes South made to their security at the beginning of the year.

“One major change we made up here in the front office is when visitors come into the building, […] we have a system called Rapterware, and the visitor needs to provide me with either a driver’s license or a state ID card from any state in the country,” Furse said.

According to Furse, the program then displays the visitor’s information on the screen. Rapterware then puts this information into a database that is able to identify if the person is a convicted sex offender or pedophile.

“If it is someone that’s not supposed to be in the building, I would hit ‘yes’, […] and it would automatically call the school policeman and the deans to come in and take them into an office to further question him or her,” Furse said.

According to Wegley, many of the tragedies our nation has experienced point to individuals not taking the time to pay attention to warning signs. To prevent this from happening at South, there are clear resources and help in the building that students who are struggling can go to for guidance.

According to social worker David Hartman, there are seven social workers and four psychologists working with the students at South.

Wegley also mentioned the Titan Concern Hotline, which is a link on the GBS website that includes a phone number and space to post anonymous concerns for any student or faculty member within the school.

“If you have a concern with someone who is feeling down and may harm themselves, you’re letting somebody know who can help,” Wegley said. “This can be anywhere from an eating disorder to someone who is planning to cause harm.”

Bean echoed Wegley’s belief that faculty play an important role in students’ lives.

“Every day, we try and listen to our kids and talk to our kids and hope that we have those kinds of relationships that if our students are concerned about something, that there’s at least one adult in this building that they can go to and share their concerns to,” Bean said.

Wegley also points out that clubs such as Erika’s Lighthouse are effective tools to help break the stigma of seeking help and openly talking about depression and other issues.

“You are going to have times in your life where you are up and you’re down, and when you’re down and stay down you need to seek help to get you back up,” Wegley said. “This is not a sign of weakness or anything other than you needing to find someone who has the expertise to help you.”

According to Wegley, on the GBS website there are also links to information about many helpful facilities that are available in the Glenview area.

“We regularly meet with these agencies [regarding social work services] to make sure there are really strong connections between us and them,” Wegley said.

Wegley is also confident that the teams of individuals at South who constantly work to try and help students and staff who are struggling will remain open and connected to anyone who seeks their help.

“If we have the trust between the school and the students, we are going to be safe,” Wegley said.

Anonymous tips or concerns can be reported by calling the Titan Concern Hotline:  847-486-4949.