Heightened Security Practices

The number one concern in any group setting is security.  In this modern day and age this concern extends to school settings, as well.    We, at Newtown Discovery Preschool, are very cognizant of security and take pride in our extensive measures.

Security starts before entering the building. Our building has 36 cameras strategically placed for 24 hour surveillance.  The camera feeds are stored for 30 days allowing for review of footage.  The areas include not only the classrooms, but the outdoor playspace and building perimeters.  

Some programs do offer camera access for parents.  Do be wary of these apps as a breach of security may easily occur. There are several reasons for this:

1. The application is managed by a third party
2. Unless administrators turn off access for those not attending on a given day (ie. due to illness), parents are able to view children other than their own
3. As the feed is live, there is no way to go back and review the previous events of the day
4. Parents often keep the app on their desktop computer allowing others to view children in the classroom
5. Parents can record (although they are requested not to do so) their own children as well as others

Having an application that permits parents to receive photos/videos directly from the classroom teacher gives you connectivity and protection. Reports are stored by the application day by day to allow parents to review past entries as easily as current entries. The application permits direct communication between parents and teachers throughout the course of the day.  Parents may tag photos, videos, or updates or email the classroom without going through the administrative team. 

Our doors are pre-programmed to allow parental access with individualized codes during limited morning and evening hours.  This is done to limit the flow of adult visitors throughout the course of the day.  Parents wait in the vestibule for children outside of these hours.  The doors are equipped with a sensor that will only allow exit by those of a certain height.  No child in the building is tall enough to trigger the sensor without the assistance of an adult. 

Our doorbells for both the front and back doors have both a camera and intercom allowing us to check identification before opening doors.  No unauthorized visitors (i.e. DoorDash, UPS, etc.) are permitted inside the school.  An email with scheduled tours is sent to everyone in the building notifying all of visitors and the timing of such visitors.

All classrooms and office spaces are equipped with panic buttons.  The classroom doors are all locked from the outside, but freely open from the inside.   Depression of the panic button will close any doors left ajar and prevent exit or entry into the building until the alarm company and police ensure us of safety. 

Each floor of the building has open ceilings with a state-of-the-art sprinkler system.  The sprinkler system slows the spread of fire and allows for an easy and speedy evacuation.  

Our two main locations are in Newtown and Warrington and we support the Doylestown area.