Trust is key in creating a safe atmosphere at PCS

by Becky Uehling

Grant Tribune-Sentinel

Building relationships is what sits at the top of Perkins County School Superintendent Phillip Picquet’s priority list as the month of August begins and school approaches

With a total of 431 students enrolled in Perkins County Schools so far for the 2022-23  year, guaranteeing a successful year means he and his staff put in the effort to build relationships with each of them, Picquet said.

The trust that is built between the students and the staff, from janitors, teachers, TeamMates volunteers, on up to the administration serves a safety net to catch any student who may be falling into a situation that is unmanageable.

“Presence is prevention,” Picquet said of the importance of building trust in the students. 

Unmanageable situations have happened at other schools across the United States in recent times, with students acting out, sometimes violently. It’s a reality that Picquet knows that Perkins County is not immune to. Security plans are constantly looked at by Picquet and the board, with new procedures and deterrents implemented yearly. 

This year, one new change at the jr high/high school will be the requirement for all students to use the front entrance to enter and leave the building during the day. 

“It will be an adjustment for our students,” he said. “We have a lot of doors, but leaving and returning through one door will increase our security and safety. It will be a little bit of a change, but they (the students) will adapt.” 

Picquet said the move will put the high school more in line with the elementary which already has only two points of entry—at the front of the building and at the south of the building by the bus loading area. Both areas are locked and monitored with a camera and buzz-in system. The front door at the high school is also monitored with a camera and visitors are buzzed in after being identified, he said. 

Another aspect of safety and security has been the hiring of two former law enforcement personnel to serve as maintenance staff for the  campus. 

Being hired to fill the head maintenance position is Rick Dreiling. Dreiling currently serves at the Fire Chief for the Grant Fire Department and is a former deputy of the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office. Also hired to work in maintenance is Chris Finken from Ogallala, who served in law enforcement for 20 years. 

“Having these two former law enforcement veterans on our staff is a huge positive,” Picquet said.

Picquet said he will be seeking advice from Dreiling and Finken on how security could be enhanced at the school. 

Some of the other security measures Picquet hopes to establish are updated entrances at the schools, better fortified doors and windows, additional doors that are accessed with card readers, continually updated software for monitoring the students’ online activity while at the school, and maintaining an open door policy with local law enforcement and first responders so they and the students are comfortable with each other and the building. 

“It really goes back to trust. We want our students to feel safe here and to know they can trust us and the staff that work here,” he said. “If we establish that, then we can depend on them to be careful about not propping doors open, or letting people in side doors, and also being an extra pair of eyes and ears for us and to speak up if they see something that is out of place.” 

Perkins County Schools open on August 18 for the 2022-23 school year.