Metal detectors in Brockton lead to lengthy waiting in rain, school opens early Tuesday

BROCKTON, Mass. — A day after students were soaked, waiting to get into Brockton High School as their peers were screened with new walk-through metal detectors, the school made a change.

The principal announced Monday afternoon that school would open at 6:15 Tuesday morning.

“This is, of course, voluntary. Breakfast will be provided, and students may sit in their respective cafeterias and quietly spend time with their friends until it is time to go to class,” wrote Principal Cynthia Burns in a letter to high school families.

A stay-in-place order was issued on October 8 after a student brought a gun into school. Boston 25 News was told the weapon was turned over by the student to a staff member voluntarily.

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This past Friday, another second stay-in-place order was issued by administrators after they discovered a Snapchat photo that showed a student with a magazine clip in their waistband, according to The Brockton Enterprise. The student was removed from the school, will take part in an expulsion hearing, and will face criminal charges.

According to the high school principal, some other changes students regarding arrival include:

• Students will enter the school through their designated building, where they will pass through a walk-through metal detector. Any items in violation of the student handbook will be confiscated following the procedures outlined in the handbook.
• Until further notice, only bags the size of your BPS laptop or smaller will be permitted inside the building. This includes bags such as clutches or wristlets and belt bags or fanny packs. Larger bags, including backpacks and duffel bags, are not permitted. All bags are subject to a search at the entrances.
• Students who need to bring larger bags to school for sports will be required to drop their bags off in the main lobby of the gymnasium, where a staff member will store them for the day. Please make sure your bag is labeled with your name on it before drop-off.
• Students who need to bring a musical instrument larger than a flute or piccolo to school will be required to drop it off at the Fine Arts Building before school, where it will be stored for the day.

School officials would not make themselves available Monday and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday morning.

Below is a letter sent by the high school to families Monday afternoon on the efforts to limit bottlenecks as students enter school:

“My team and I spent time today reviewing the morning arrival process and we’ve come up with a few solutions to hopefully reduce the amount of time that students spend waiting in line.

Until further notice, we will open the building at 6:15 a.m. to allow students who arrive early to take advantage of shorter lines. This is of course totally voluntary. Breakfast will be provided and students may sit in their respective cafeterias and quietly spend time with their friends until it is time to go to class.

We revised our internal processes to eliminate bottlenecks at the entrances. While this should reduce the amount of time spent outside, I'd like to encourage students to wear weather-appropriate attire due to expected inclement weather.

As a reminder, please only bring bags to school that are the same size or smaller than your student laptop. We urge students to use clear backpacks, one-zip bags, drawstring bags, and smaller bags, such as clutches and belt bags. Bags with multiple compartments contribute to slowing down the entry process and we are trying to avoid unnecessary delays- especially given the weather we’re expecting this week.”

—  Brockton High School

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