The Essentials
Ensuring the Physical Safety of Our Schools
Ensuring the physical safety of our schools is extremely important. Everett Public Schools utilizes a variety of best practices to provide a safe physical environment in all our schools: Secured Entries: At our schools, visitors must ring a bell at the main entrance, where they will be buzzed into a single-entry point during the school day. Main office staff monitor the visitor via camera prior to the visitor being buzzed into our school buildings.
Visitor Check and Badges: Beginning in the school year 2023-2024, all school buildings throughout the district will be manned with a Security Guard at the main entrance of each school building. The Security Guard will request that visitors provide government-issued identification and have a specific reason for their visit. Prior to admission to the school, visitors must sign in with security in our visitor management system. *(Please note that all visitors into our schools will be requested by security to capture their photo through our visitor management system, which will be utilized and visible on the printed visitor badge that will be required to be displayed on the visitor's outermost garment while inside of the school buildings).
Maps and Directions: In each of our classrooms, directions for evacuation routes are displayed graphically near the doorways.
Video Camera Monitoring: Each of our schools come equipped with state-of-the-art exterior and interior video surveillance systems, to cover all public spaces. EPS does not incorporate monitoring inside of our classrooms, restrooms, offices or other private spaces.
Identification Badges: At all schools, all of our staff members wear EPS identification badges. As well as staff, all students at Everett High School are required to wear identification badges with a colored lanyard that corresponds to their grade level.Office "Panic" Buttons: In all our schools, there are panic buttons in the main office that can be activated and trigger a "silent" alarm which dispatches law enforcement to the school location. In our high school, we have panic buttons in all the Guidance offices as well.
Mass Text and Phone Notifications: EPS utilizes a system to provide both mass text and mass phone call notifications to our families and staff.
Locked Exterior Doors: At all schools throughout the district, once students have arrived for the day, all exterior doors are locked and remain locked throughout the school day.
Locked Interior Doors: Interior classroom doors remain locked at all times.
Security Staffing at Everett High School: At our high school, there are three Security guards on duty during the school day. Two of the Security guards conduct access control to the school building, as well as other security functions. One of the Security guards is designated to monitor live cameras of both the exterior and interior of the school, as well as monitoring emergency exit door alarms. Security’s purpose is to help school administration maintain a safe environment by monitoring student movement and behavior, performing access control to the school, as well as monitoring video camera systems and other safety related tasks.
Access Control System: Over the last year, EPS has installed card reader access control systems at all the school buildings, where EPS staff can utilize their identification badge to gain entry to their designated school building. These electronic identification badges are closely monitored through our management system and can be accessed to determine who and when our buildings have been accessed.
Emergency Exit Door Alarms: Emergency exit doors at most of the schools in the district have been equipped with audible alarms to notify school staff whenever these doors are accessed throughout the school day. As well as making an audible alarm when the door is opened, school administration also receives an email with a picture of who accessed the door. This is designed to assist with monitoring access into and out of the school buildings, to ensure the safety of all students and staff members within the school buildings.
Vape Detectors: In the high school, as well as middle schools throughout the district, vape detectors have been installed in all student restrooms. If activated, these vape detectors are designed to silently send a notification to security and school administration with the location of the activated detector. The vape detectors are designed to activate upon evidence of a vape (nicotine and THC), masking (if a student utilizes spray in an attempt to cover up the vape smell), as well as tamper (if a student attempts to touch or cover up the detector).
Security Glass: DefenseLite premium forced entry prevention security glass has been installed on all exterior entry doors, as well as on adjacent glass panels, at all schools throughout the district. This system is designed to flex and absorb the impact from an attack without breaking or tearing the glass. Alongside Defenselite, schools throughout the district have also been outfitted with 3M safety and security window film, making lower-level windows more difficult to penetrate, to help prevent outside dangers from getting in.
Director of Safety & Security
Lauren O'Connor
617-394-2490
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Security Manager
Nadina Braxton
Nadina Braxton became the Security Manager for the district of Everett Public Schools this August. She previously worked as part of the opening team for Encore Boston Harbor as the Supervisor of the Security Control Center. She possesses 6 years of experience in security and emergency management where she specialized in communication, decision making, planning and implementing security strategies such as preventative measures, supervising, recruiting and training personnel.
Nadina acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Bay State College, where she graduated with honors in a specialization of Domestic and International Security. She holds current certificates in Trained Crowd Manager, Adult and Infant First AID/CPR/AED, National Incident Management System and Incident Command System from FEMA.