Palm Beach County Schools Focus on Student Safety and Health

For the 2024-2025 school year, Palm Beach County schools are prioritizing student safety and wellness. At the back-to-school press conference held Aug. 9, Superintendent Michael J. Burke discussed several key district initiatives and updates, which included enhanced security and student wellbeing measures.

Enhanced Campus Safety

High School Metal Detectors

A significant change this year is the installation of metal detectors in all high schools across Palm Beach County. Starting Aug. 12, all high school students will have to enter school through metal detectors. Superintendent Burke explained that this is possible due to last year’s successful pilot program. While there are no immediate plans to expand this security measure to middle or elementary schools, the district is continuing to add cameras and swipe-ID technology across all campuses.

Environmental Awareness

Chief Operating Officer Joseph Sanches encouraged parents to watch out for students walking to school and make sure their children wear reflective clothing. He also noted the district enforces swipe IDs at bus entrances, and although this may slow down the bus-boarding process, it increases student safety.

Additionally, for the third consecutive year, the district has partnered with the FBI to host a targeted school violence awareness seminar. This initiative, which took place at the end of the summer, focuses on campus safety and environmental awareness.

Chief of School Police Sarah Mooney said that ultimately, human effort is more important than technology. If anyone sees anything suspicious, it is their duty to report it, she said.

“The most important piece is our human factor,” she said. “We want to engage our parents, we want to engage our students, our staff, police – everybody. Everybody is a piece of our security plan.”

Mooney added that the district is committed to ensuring secure environments for all students.

“There’s no end to our safety and security plan,” she said.

Student Wellness

Attendance: A Growing Concern

Attendance has become a major focus for the district. Superintendent Burke revealed that 39% of students district-wide missed 11 or more days of school last year. He explained the pandemic has left lasting effects on student attendance, and the district is determined to break these bad habits. By partnering with the Children’s Services Council, the district aims to increase messaging around the importance of regular attendance. Not only is this is critical for academic success, but it is also important for social development, he said.

Nutrition and Transportation Improvements

Ensuring that students have access to nutritious meals is another priority for Palm Beach County schools. This year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch, contributing to better academic performance and overall well-being.

In addition, the district has made strides in addressing bus driver shortages. Bus driver vacancies have been reduced from 130 last year to just 66. Impressively, there are now more drivers than routes. This is a significant improvement that will ensure students have reliable transportation to and from school.

Vaping

Chief of School Police Sarah Mooney noted that the district will be launching a vape detector pilot program this year. Palm Beach County schools are aiming to curb vaping and promote student wellness with this program, which will involve installing smoke detector-type devices in restrooms to detect vaping. This will build upon the already existing discipline rules and work to improve overall student health and wellness.

Building on Academic Success

The district is also celebrating an “A” rating as a result of the staff’s hard work and dedication to their students. The superintendent highlighted the achievements of the class of 2024, with 70% of high school students taking at least one college-level course and receiving over $150 million in scholarships.

“We really want to build on this success and keep the momentum going,” Superintendent Burke said. “And it’s not just about getting students to a level of proficiency. We have students that are very high achieving, and we need to push them harder as well.”

The district is now focused on ensuring the class of 2025 exceeds the achievements of the class of 2024.

“The class of 2024 set the bar high,” he said. “Now, we have our work cut out for us to make sure the class of 2025 reaches that goal – and hopefully pushes it a little higher.”

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