New Weymouth middle school designed with safety and security in mind
WEYMOUTH - With the start of school just days away, Weymouth is putting the finishing touches on its brand new $163 million Chapman Middle School.
The 252,000 square foot state of the art facility now combines both middle schools and has all the amenities a student could imagine and more, including robotics, and broadcast labs, a full-scale culinary center and theatre art space.
"As a principal, I don't have a single day where I don't think about how to keep everybody safe within our schools," said Chapman Principal Matt Meehan.
Meehan says his top priority is security measures to make sure his students are learning in the safest environment possible.
Everything from how you enter the building to inside the classrooms.
"It's tightened up a bit. We have a couple more cameras," Meehan said.
The school is equipped with a new mass notification system.
"It really tells the occupants of the building something different is going on. Not just the typical drill," Meehan said. "It flashes and it sounds, and it could play different messages."
With the swipe of a card, school officials can lock down certain sections of the building.
A lot of the high-tech security measures that are now in place could not be shown on camera or discussed for obvious reasons. But in addition to the upgrades in security, the school is also placing a heavy emphasis on staffing to help meet the social and emotional needs of the students.
"We have social workers that reach out to the community. So, the community feels incredibly connected to the school and less likely to engage in some kind of violence towards the school," Meehan said.