School Security Still Top Concern as Students Head Back to Class

School security teams are gearing up for the first day of school in Broward County.

Hector Rivera, a security specialist at Western High School in Davie, is just one of the many guards that are ensuring that the campus is safe before students head back to class.

“We make sure the school is safe and everybody feel comfortable in the school,” Rivera said.

On a recent day at the school, the girls' volleyball team was practicing, so Rivera used it as an opportunity to talk to the players, introduce himself and encourage them to reach out to him with any concerns they might have.

Rivera told NBC 6 that it is crucial to build rapport with students since school security depends on using the eyes and ears of everyone on campus. 

“When they feel safe and comfortable with you, they give us the information we need to know what’s going on on campus right now,” Rivera explained.

That is why school resource officers, armed guardians, and campus monitors spend so much time talking to the kids. Students are usually the first to know about a threat or if another kid needs professional help.

“It’s most important that when kids go to school they understand that if they know something or see something they gotta say something,” said Jaime Alberti, the district’s chief of safety and security.

Apps like Saferwatch and FortifyFL make it easy to report an incident. Students and teachers in Broward and Miami-Dade County have free access to the apps.

“Obviously, the school police officer is vital, but you have other critical elements like teachers, principals, school monitors and parents. Parents many times are our most important resource,” said Chief Edwin Lopez of the Miami-Dade Schools Police.

“Parents play a key role in making sure that they’re checking phones, they’re checking backpacks, and having these conversations with their child about what happened during the day,” Alberti said.

It goes without saying that since the Parkland tragedy, the importance of school security has been magnified for students, teachers, and parents.

“It is the most important thing that we take into account every day,” said Jimmy Arrojo, principal of Western High School. “Every high school principal, every administrator, every teacher, every security monitor, they all feel the same thing, we have to feel safe in order to get our goals met.”

For an added layer of safety, Broward County Public Schools will continue using hand-held metal detectors to screen backpacks in random classrooms.

The district is also facing a reckoning as hundreds of security positions and mental health counselors are funded by the 2018 referendum. Keeping them on the payroll might depend on voters approving the current referendum.

But for the time being, Rivera is still on the job patrolling the campus.

“My goal every day is the safety and security of the school,” Rivera said.