In today's school system, student safety is paramount. That is why so many schools have incorporated school resource officers into their daily operations. One of Lamar's resource officers, Jimmy Harmon, presented a problem facing Lamar High School to our EAST class. Officer Harmon had noticed that the doors in our new high school building had no way for teachers in the classroom to see who was at their door before opening the door. In other words, there was no way of knowing that the person knocking on the door was who they said they were as well as no way to see if they posed any form of a threat. Jason Easterling, Autumn Conklin, and Kyren Broomfield were interested in finding a solution. They worked with Officer Harmon to determine a low-cost solution, that would offer reliability and safety. They believed peepholes were the solution. Jason, Autumn, and Kyren worked with Officer Harmon to identify a quality peephole and determine an appropriate height, and timeframe for installation. Jason, Autumn, and Kyren felt that producing a video that would help show the dangers of not having peepholes would help persuade the school board of the need. They worked together to develop the script, learned how to use filming equipment, and CapCut (editing software) to produce the video. They also used SketchUp to model what the doors would look like with the peepholes installed and modeled a template/jig to help with installation.
The students contacted the Superintendent, Dr. Clint Jones, about presenting their findings to the school board. He recommended that the students present to the administration team first. The administration team was impressed with the students' preparation and professionalism during their presentations. Dr. Jones felt they were ready to present to the school board. After presenting to the school board, the students' pitch was approved and the school purchased 50 peepholes to be installed. The Ag Mechanics class also got involved by building the template/jig to help with installation. Jason, Kyren, and Autumn have been working to install the peepholes, but holiday decorations, holiday breaks, and winter weather have disrupted the installation process. However, they should be able to complete the installation in the next two weeks.
Jason, Autumn, and Kyren are three students who began this project not knowing how to produce a video, 3D model, or be comfortable presenting in a professional manner, but their experiences through this project have helped to give them the confidence to move on to bigger and more complex problem-solving opportunities. Our school is much safer now that 45 classroom doors have a way to see who is trying to gain access and whether or not they pose a potential threat.