While schools nationwide continue to enforce dress codes and attendance, increasingly the focus has been on safety.

With recent violent events in schools across the nation, the safety issue is again at the forefront of campus administrations. Methods such as cameras in the halls, metal detectors, and ID necklaces are used to protect students on other campuses.

Although these precautions are taken in defense against danger, the safety of students relies on both faculty and students.

?Success comes with safety and responsibility,? Nick McAllister, ?07, said, ?and it is our responsibility to report anything suspicious that we hear or see.?

The entire Peoples Church facility staff of 30 people which includes administration, maintenance, grounds, painting, custodial, and security personnel considers safety their number one concern.

“Safety includes so many different aspects,” Willard Neufeld, facility manager, said. “Maintaining everything people use, where they walk, park, drive, meet, air they breathe, equipment used, etc. are all under the safety umbrella.

“All of the staff is constantly reminded to use our eyes, ears, and nose to assist in the ongoing effort of safety. We want each person to have a positive experience while they are on this campus.”

Neufeld added that several on staff just completed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) certification. The CERT program is a 20-hour course sponsored by the City and County of Fresno and the Department of Homeland Security. He said that they will now use their knowledge and materials available to begin additional in-house training of our entire facility staff to better prepare for a major disaster.

The course covered disaster preparedness, fire safety, triage, medical operations, search and rescue, disaster psychology and terrorism.

While support staff is updating their preparedness, students also feel security should constantly improve and adjust as the environment changes.

?There are many security guards that are on my campus, they don?t do their job right,? Sara Estrada, Bullard High student, ?08, said. ?They let anyone come on campus with no questions asked. They also see fights going on and won?t do anything to stop them.?

A fight at Ahwahnee Junior High led to the death of a 13-year old on Nov. 1. Police concluded the cause of death was most likely from the effects of the fight, and a 14-year-old has been charged with murder.

In 1999, two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher during the Columbine massacre. Since then, plans developed to prevent another calamity, but willpower is not to be underestimated.

?I don?t think about school security,? Amin Haddad, ?10, said, ?because we?re a small Christian school and the teachers trust the students.?

Last year, a fire took place in the FC boys? junior/senior bathroom. The damaged room required four days to repair. Although the fire was controlled and extinguished immediately, it risked the lives of the student body and faculty.

?Even though our campus is safe, it will always be possible to have something bad happen. There are ways to trick the system,? Walter Scott, ?08, said. ?Take the terrorist attacks for example; they always seem to find new ways to sneak bombs on the planes. We have smart people and if they wanted to, they could take over.?

In efforts to stop potential hazards, the administration constructed an extensive emergency plan to guarantee the safety of the campus. Further details on the campus emergency procedures are located in the online student handbook.

?We do have an emergency plan to ensure the safety of our students,? Jon Endicott, associate principal, said. ?It?s a very extensive plan. It covers all types of disastrous weather to shootings and bombs. Our goal is to keep our students safe.?

For more information on CERT certification call Carla Glazebrook at the Fresno Citizen Corp at (559) 621-2328.