Walnut Hills High School
February 5, 2013
Volume CVII, Issue 5
Meet ALICE: CPS’ new lockdown procedure Jade Clark, ‘13 Jonah Roth, ‘13
The days of crowding up in a corner will soon be gone. With the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary shootings on everyone’s minds, school districts nationwide, including Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), are on the road to preventing potential tragedies. ALICE is CPS’ new weapon to protect its students so that something like Sandy Hook does not occur within our own classrooms. ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. This system is different from its predecessor in that escape is the first option. If an intruder enters the school, faculty and students will no longer have to wait for the police to arrive. Waiting for help proved to be tragic in the case of Columbine High School in 1999 when the gunmen opened fire while the school was waiting for aid from the police.
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Cincinnati Public Schools’ current lockdown procedure requires all the students to take cover in a corner of the room. Cincinnati Public School Resource Officer Shawn George wants CPS students to feel empowered and to fight back if escaping is not an option. He remarks to WCPO, “You’re not going to just sit under a table and get shot.” ALICE has been in place in
Sycamore Community Schools since 2011. English teacher Christine Miñano used to teach at Sycamore High School, and finds that the many options teachers are presented with can be very useful: “If teachers have other strategies such as fighting back, barricading, blocking windows, or [going] out
Robinson game to be a true test of character
the window, the chance for survival is much higher.” Mathematics teacher Michael Wathen adds that “any new lockdown procedure needs to be well-rehearsed.” Walnut teachers seem to have differing views on the current lockdown procedure and ALICE. Wathen does not believe the
current lockdown procedure is effective: “The red and green cards are asking for trouble.” Teachers are currently required to slide cards under their classroom door to signal whether or not they are safe. He is also concerned about his classroom specifically: “I’m concerned about how secure the courtyard is because anybody could come right through the window.” Science teacher Dr. Rajni Harsh thinks that the current lockdown procedure is effective: “They check all the rooms and make sure there’s no noise.” She adds that “leaving the classroom will not be effective.” In addition to ALICE, CPS plans on implementing several other security measures, including an employee card system, safe school entrances, camera systems, an automated system for checking in visitors, also known as a “lobby guard”, lockboxes, safety kits, and walkie-talkies.
Test scores = teachers’ salaries?
GRAHAM FOWLER/CHATTERBOX
Do these students know their test scores could affect their teacher’s paycheck? Graham Fowler, ‘13
SKYLER WARE
Walnut Hills faculty sit on the bench during last year’s Gabe Robinson game. Charlie Hatch, ‘13 On Saturday night, Walnut will once again hold the teachers versus students Gabe Robinson Game. This time, however, it will carry a new meaning. Not only will this be the first charity game in the new gym, it will also mark the first game without either of Gabe’s parents, Jackie and Paulette, who both passed away within the last twelve months. “Since Paulette passed away and Jackie passed away, I realized it was their strength that helped us all get through it,” says current mathematics teacher and former coach of Robinson, Mike Herald. Although the first alumnivarsity game took place in 1996, the game took on a much heavier meaning after Robinson collapsed and died during the second quarter of a game at Northwest High School on January 30, 1998. The charity event on Saturday
will stand as a testament to the great character, player and member of the Walnut community that Gabe Robinson was. “So few people at Walnut still remember the intense pain and the dissolution,” Herald says. “Its awesome so many people maintain the spirit of the game; come together, have fun, raise money to help kids have a better chance of going to college, and make it easier on them, all in the memory of Gabe Robinson.” The festivities will begin when the alumni battle in an odd year graduation versus an even year matchup. Following that game, a team of SENIORS will take on the teachers and try to end the faculty’s long-standing winning streak. But first, in order for the games to take place, an enormous amount of time and effort is required. “I have to give of the credit to the alumni association, who have
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done all of the work to maintain the incredible amount of time it takes to organize,” Herald says. “[I want to thank] the faculty, for being able to go out and play basketball, [and] the students, for wanting to play and raise money for this. [The game has] evolved to where it is a Walnut family thing, and its been awesome.” To principal Jeffrey Brokamp, Saturday night is an opportunity for Walnut to come together, and become closer as a school. “It was easy to run a memorial scholarship game when the family members were there to thank you,” Brokamp says. “Its a real test, to our character as a school, to continue on and make it even better, and raise even more money for the scholarship for kids. “The old theory that character is demonstrated by what you do when no one is looking. No one is looking now.”
By the 2013-14 school year, teacher pay in Ohio will be linked to student test scores as a result of legislation signed by Gov. John Kasich. Though the law could still be changed before going into effect, it currently requires that Ohio public school districts give each teacher a grade determined by the new state budget. Half of each teacher’s grade will be based on how much their students have learned, as determined by their test scores. This grade will aid in decisions regarding salary, promotions and firings. Confusion among the teachers and administration revolves around this grading system (which will affect all teachers) and which tests will be scored. “In my case, I teach 11th grade English and French. There are no standardized tests for these [classes],” teacher Francesca Bownas-Rayburn states. Many teachers will find themselves in similar situations. “What I understand is that it is in house bill 555,” says English teacher Dawn Wolfe. “This is all very difficult and
Jade K. Clark, News & Features Editor
complicated. We didn’t make this plan, all we can do is adjust as best as we can,” art teacher and Union Representative Pearletta Williams says. Currently, the way that Art, Physical Education and Music teachers will be scored is not explicitly explained in this plan. “Many changes will be made before the dust settles,” BownasRayburn predicts. At this point, student awareness on this upcoming plan is mixed. SENIOR Andrew Schmalz says that “it seems like there would be trouble enforcing this new law; there are many cases where it doesn’t even apply.” Katie Chase, ‘16, adds that “as a freshman, I haven’t heard much about this. I think many freshman find themselves in my position. I know that there aren’t any standardized tests that apply to me as a freshman though.” Several Walnut students admitted to knowing nothing about it at all. Much needed clarification regarding this new grading system is still unavailable, but when it comes down to it, Wolfe says that “it’s the law; it’s coming whether we like it or not.”
The Chatterbox