Fayetteville School District plans to upgrade fences at all elementary schools over the next few weeks, starting with Vandergriff Elementary School.
District officials audited elementary and middle school campuses for fencing needs following the recent death of a first-grader who went missing from a Vandergriff playground, was found in the pool of a nearby residence and died a day later.
By the numbers
Elementary schools
• Bentonville School District: 10
• Fayetteville School District: 9
• Rogers School District: 15
• Springdale School District: 18
Source: Staff report
The added fencing at Vandergriff is set to be in place by March 27, the day students return from spring break, said John L. Colbert, associate superintendent for support services. District officials are pushing for all other fencing projects to be completed by April 31, he said.
Fencing around playgrounds varies among Northwest Arkansas schools. Some are enclosed while others are open.
Arkansas doesn't require fencing around school boundaries or playgrounds unless the school has a prekindergarten program, said Kimberly Friedman, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
Fayetteville prioritizes fencing for elementary schools because pupils are outside more than older students, Colbert said.
Colbert spent time walking campus grounds with principals to examine where teachers take students outside for recess or physical education.
"We tried to see what areas should be fenced in, in order to make sure kids are protected from outsiders and also in order to make sure we do not have kids leave the area," Colbert said.
Vandergriff has fencing on the north side of the campus and part of the east side, but the fence line stops near the gymnasium, Colbert said. When children return from spring break, additional fencing will enclose all play areas on the campus's east side, he said.
The other elementary school fences will be done as a separate project, he said.
"It's a big job," he said.
Fayetteville Superintendent Matthew Wendt has said first-grader Adron Benton was on the playground with 16 classmates and five classroom aides March 7 when he left the playground. He has said the staff on the playground were quality, trained employees. Investigations by the school district and police are ongoing.
All elementary schools have some fencing, but the question has been whether fences keeps children contained, Wendt said.
"We're acting swiftly with the intent that this situation and any related situation of a child being able to leave school property never happens again," he said.
Fayetteville schools plan around a ratio of one adult for every 50 children who are at recess, Colbert said. Campuses use a mix of certified teachers and aides. Sometimes aides are used to cover recess for small groups of students, he said.
"We make sure we have ample coverage, adults to students, to make sure we provide appropriate supervision," he said.
The incident in Fayetteville spurred conversations among Rogers School District staff about safety, said Ashley Siwiec, spokeswoman.
Four campuses along busy streets or near high traffic areas have fully fenced playgrounds, she said. Ten other playgrounds have partial fencing.
The School District reviewed needs at every playground last year and identified areas to consider for improvement, Siwiec said. The review led the district to add fencing to the Reagan Elementary School campus.
The district is seeking more money for safety and security measures and are included in the proposal for a millage increase that will go to voters May 9, Siwiec said.
"We always want to do everything we can to keep our students safe," Siwiec said.
Tragedies involving schools, whether they are in Fayetteville or other parts of the United States, have led to ongoing conversations about campus safety, said Paul Wallace, the Bentonville School District's director of facilities. The programs fall under regulations for child care programs.
"It has made us look to see are there areas we can enhance safety," Wallace said.
Bentonville School District added fences over the past few years because of Department of Human Services regulations for the Adventure Club before- and after-school programs, he said.
Principals have different views on fences, Wallace said.
"It just depends on what is happening or what the emergency might be," he said.
Fences can deter children from going into parking lots and at some campuses provide a barrier between roads and playgrounds, he said.
But when safety plans call for teachers and students to flee a building in other types of emergencies, a fence can create bottlenecks and barriers, he said.
Some children are good climbers and can escape, Wallace said. People from outside the school also can jump over fences. Fences require constant maintenance.
At Tyson Elementary School in Springdale, a fence surrounds some of the outdoor play area, Principal Shelly Poage said. Chapman Avenue and Cambridge Streets are busy streets that border the school.
Poage remembers one incident where a third-grader climbed the fence and staff had to run around it to get the student, she said.
"It may slow them down," she said. "It's not going to keep them from leaving you."
Poage focuses on supervision, she said. She schedules at least one certified staff member and instructional assistants to be outside with students, but like all principals, she has to schedule teachers so they have no more than 60 minutes of extra duties per week, she said.
The tragedy at Vandergriff has prompted discussions among principals in Springdale, and it led Poage to remind her staff to be vigilant, she said.
School officials try to learn lessons from every incident and know they cannot take too many precautions, said Deputy Superintendent Jared Cleveland.
Across Springdale, fenced playgrounds include those at Bayyari, Lee and Jones elementary schools, but several other campuses don't have enclosed playgrounds, said Rick Schaeffer, district spokesman.
Cleveland has been asked about fencing at Young, but city officials wouldn't allow it because of concerns about access for fire trucks, he said.
The district focuses on strong supervision, he said. Principals, teachers and aides know they will have students who run, he said. They try to focus on constantly counting heads.
"You just have to be vigilant," he said. "Since we are human, things happen. We try to do our best."
NW News on 03/19/2017