Lily Zimmerman

Students wait at the gates to leave for off-campus lunch.

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – We’ve all seen the security fencing surrounding Los Alamitos High School and other schools in the district, but not many students know about the other measures in place to ensure safety. These include Megan’s Law, mylar window films and earthquake search and rescue teams, among many others.

The most apparent security measure is LAHS’s security fencing with single-point entry gates around the school. These gates remain closed during most of the school day and ensure that all campus visitors enter through the main office.

At the main office, visitors scan their driver’s licenses before entering the school. When visitors scan their licenses, a program automatically runs them through Megan’s Law, the database of registered sex offenders. Visitors also receive a bright green visitor sticker with their face, name and the current date on it.

If an intruder gets past all of the initial security measures, the school will go into lockdown. This sounds an alarm so all teachers will close, lock and barricade their doors. Teachers will also turn lights off, close window blinds and make sure everyone in their classroom is out of sight and quiet. The windows on campus are covered with a mylar film, so if an attacker tries breaking the window to get in, the glass will be held in place to prevent the attacker from entering the classroom.

If an attacker does get into the classroom, teachers have been trained to defend their students to the best of their abilities. All teachers have been trained, and the school offers refresher courses throughout the year to ensure teachers stay up-to-date.

“We train the staff on the approach of run, hide, fight,” said Los Alamitos Unified School District’s superintendent, Dr. Pulver. “If you’re far away from an active shooter, run. If you can’t and you’re now in an enclosed facility, then you’re hiding. If they’re now in your room and you have no other choice, that’s when you fight. You throw anything you have.”

The school is prepared for more than attackers, though. In case of an earthquake, teachers are already sorted into emergency teams. Some teachers will perform first aid, some will be search and rescue and others will work on reunification.

The school also has partnerships with several local law enforcement agencies, including Seal Beach Police, the Orange County Sheriff and the Los Alamitos Police. In case of an emergency, all of them will respond.

“When there’s an emergency, the hierarchy goes away, and they’re just there to respond and get to safety,” Dr. Pulver said.

The school also has staff on hand to take care of smaller problems. The high school’s resource officer spent three years as a police officer on patrol and now focuses on campus safety.

“I work with criminal activity, but I also try to counsel and try to guide kids in the right direction,” Officer Brucki, of the Los Alamitos Police Department, said.

As an added safety measure, LAUSD schools monitor what kind of online content students are consuming on school devices.

“One of our important safety measures is the use of monitoring software to track student online activity for any inappropriate, dangerous or alarming content,” said Director of Safety and Student Sevices Jerry Friedman. “When potential concerns are identified, alerts are sent to administrators, allowing us to intervene quickly and offer appropriate support.”

Overall, LAHS has many policies in place to ensure the safety of its students and staff outside of what we see every day.