Maryland school security: Here’s what we learned in visiting 18 schools

Photo by Ennio Dybeli on Unsplash

If a visitor goes to a public school in the Baltimore region, they’ll more often than not encounter a video-and-buzzer system to gain entrance.

Whether they actually converse with a staff member and are compelled to identify themselves before getting in the front doors is another question altogether.

Once in the building, they’ll probably be directed to a front office to be greeted and vetted by a staffer. But it’s not a sure bet.

Those were some of the findings from a sampling of schools The Baltimore Sun visited Monday. In the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, The Sun undertook a project to get a snapshot of security procedures at schools throughout our region.

We sent 18 reporters and several photographers to schools around the Baltimore area — reporting at three representative schools in all the districts in and around Baltimore. We wanted to report beyond what districts say their security protocols are — we wanted to test and convey what those security protocols are in real life. What does a visitor encounter? What signage, directives and personnel guide and vet visitors at the school?

Here’s what we learned.