Pearland ISD Progress Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 7

From the Desk of Superintendent Dr. John Kelly
Campus Security
Recent national events have underscored the critical importance of safety and security on our campuses. As a result of
YOUR successful passage of a bond election in November 2016, millions are being spent on new security features for
all 23 campuses.  We will have security vestibules for the main entry point at each campus. Visitors must be “buzzed in”
from a bullet resistant area after submitting credentials for entry – with an associated criminal records check. All of the
entry/exit doors on each campus will be electronically monitored from a central location – to determine what doors
are unlocked. New campus perimeter fences are being erected where needed. Additional cameras are being added to
the hundreds already in place. We’re getting as much of that done between now and August 2018 as possible. In some
cases, major renovation at the front of the school requires us to sequence the new vestibules thereafter. And there are
other security measures in place that we can’t reveal to the public.
We enjoy a very close relationship with the Pearland Police Department. In addition to the 11 armed School Resource
Officers assigned full-time to our schools, we receive additional patrols and other types of police presence. We are
installing new technology allowing instant access by police to both their own headquarters and to the camera feeds in
all of our schools. 
We’re improving the identification of potential student or community threats. We’re training teachers, staff and
students on identifying and reporting questionable statements and behavior. Our most recent training is provided by
the Pearland police for campus personnel.   
I don’t want to give a false sense of total security. Even if we installed maximum security concrete walls and barbed
wire, we would not be as secure as U.S. prisons. Why? Prisons don’t allow their entire population in and out of their
facility at the beginning, middle and end of each day. Large high schools in the U.S., including our own, have thousands
of students in daily attendance. Fitting every student through one or two “choke point” entries at all parts of every day
is not feasible. In truth, a determined criminal can overcome most school defenses. Efforts at security are best equipped
to discourage, limit and confine bad actors. 
You can find more information on this vital issue on our website and in my recent blog entry:
https://pearlandisd.wordpress.com.
Parents and community members can help by telling us of any suspicious behavior and by exhibiting patience in these
times of enhanced security protocols.  May God bless these efforts and protect all of Pearland ISD!
Dr. John P. Kelly
Superintendent of Schools
www.pearlandisd.org | 7