Three years ago, security measures changed, requiring students to enter into the building through only the front entrance.  Due to the necessity of social distancing, the school designated separate entrances for each grade once the pandemic began.  This measure helped keep students socially distanced when entering and exiting the building.  In order for the school to safely monitor the doors after 8:15 a.m. — the morning rush — only one door remains accessible to enter and leave. 

“Those doors can be opened by any student or staff member using their ID card.  This allows us to safely monitor the doors and keep the doors closed after the morning rush.  Once our construction is complete we will move back to using the front doors as our single point of entry after 8:15 a.m.,” said principal Dr. Ira Pernick.

While this policy may seem unnecassary, Schreiber has many doors all around the school, making it harder for them to be monitored at all times.  Anyone entering the building must show their ID, even if they’re a guest.  Because many staff members and students go in and out of the building throughout the day, the scanning technology makes it easier to check IDs. 

Due to the construction on the lobby doors, the new main entrance for the building is directly into a central hallway.  The hallway and entrance can become more clogged due to the required scanning and single entrance.  The original main doors are separated into two doorways: one for students and staff, and one for guests.  Visitors must now enter through a separate visitors’ entrance near the print shop.  It is staffed at all times, and visitors must buzz and sign in at the visitors’ entrance desk.  This may add to the traffic in the parking lot, so the school provides signs and cones to help direct traffic. 

Based on studies from the 2020-2021 school year, the CDC recommends schools maintain at least three feet of physical distance between students within classrooms.  They also recommend this effort be combined with indoor mask wearing to reduce transmission risk.  The three feet of separation was frequently lost in the hallways even before the ID scan was introduced, and will likely be nonexistent near the entrance when students are entering the building.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2017–18 school year, 95 percent of public schools controlled access to school buildings during the day by locking or monitoring doors.  Some safety and security measures reported by other public schools included the use of security cameras, badges or picture IDs, and a strict dress code.