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Bellwood-Antis security officers will be working at the school during their normal hours each day, even though students have been learning online from home since December 2. Officers will continue to provide security for the teachers, greeters, support staff, visitors, and administrative team. 

One job officers have picked up since in-person classes ended is assisting with lunch pickup for parents and students who choose to take part in the free lunch program served from outside the Myers Elementary kitchen throughout the week.

According to Tim Mercer, B-A’s head of security, “We will also be assisting with lunch distribution for students.  We help with traffic control and safety during meal distribution.”

 They anticipate approximately 300 meals to be dispersed on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, which means a lot of traffic that they need to safely manage.

BA Security Officers will also use the time with students away to work with the IT team and building maintenance staff to review safety plans They are also continually looking at ways to enhance the approximately 110 cameras throughout the school buildings. Mr. Tim Mercer said.

“We are continually monitoring our elaborate and high tech camera and door locking systems.” said Mr. Mercer  He said “Our goal is simple: To provide a secure and safe environment for our students, staff and visitors.  We want our students to be able to focus on their studies, athletics, and the arts, without having to worry about someone trying to cause harm to them.”

The time to complete extra work doesn’t make the empty buildings any less unsettling.

“It is very odd not having the students in the buildings during this time.  We miss the many positive interactions we have each day with students, as well as parents during drop off and pick up times,” Mercer said.

The security staff’s normal days when students are in school usually start out with traffic control during drop off at the high/middle school and then at the Myers Elementary. “We interact with students, staff, and visitors throughout the day.  We play music for all students during drop off as a way to help get the students excited about the upcoming day,” Mr. Jeff Hanna said. ” It is not nearly as busy we have been pitching in and helping out as needed. We definitely do miss the interaction with the students.” said Mr. Hanna.