November 1, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
All five DeKalb County Schools now have security vestibules to enhance safety of students and staff.
The latest and last vestibule was completed over the fall break at Smithville Elementary School. Others were previously added at DCHS, Northside Elementary, DeKalb Middle, and DeKalb West School.
While visitors to the schools are already locked out and must press a button at the front entrance to be allowed inside and for them to sign in, there was previously no other security barrier or confined area to keep people from roaming the halls before being received by office staff, teacher, or principal.
Security vestibules changed that by creating a secure space for additional protection. Once a visitor has signed in and been identified as an authorized visitor, the doors from the sign-in area to the school are electronically unlocked.
The DeKalb County School District in recent years has taken steps at each school to tighten security including the addition of school resource officers, surveillance cameras, safety sphere balls (at some schools) to guard against someone crashing through the entrance with an automobile, key fobs (high school) along with the security vestibules.