Edson attack prompts principal to lock doors

Jasper Elementary implemented additional safety precautions last week following news that a 14-year-old girl was attacked and killed on a wooded trail in Edson.

Principal Raymond Blanchette-Dubé said all side doors of the building are being kept locked. The main front doors will be the only entrance students and parents will use, except for during recess when side doors will be opened to allow students in and out of the building.

“We don’t want it to be as easy for people to walk into the school,” Blanchette-Dubé said.

The kids also reviewed emergency procedures, such as responding to commands such as “stay put” which literally means don’t move, or “lock-down” which means getting into the closest available locked room. The school has gone over precautions like this for a long time, Blanchette-Dubé said, but a review brings it to the forefront of the students’ minds.

“The different practices... are getting more ingrained in the children,” he said. 

An ongoing practice is the Safe Arrival program, which means a parent is contacted if a student is not at school for both morning and afternoon attendance checks. Visible supervision when children are coming and going from school is also important when it comes to safety, Blanchette-Dubé said. “I’m fairly confident we can continue to have that presence.”

Emily Stauffer, 14, was attacked on a trail in Edson, a town 160 km east of Jasper, on Sept. 27 and succumbed to her injuries. Her attacker is still at large. Reports that a second female was attacked in the same area Tuesday put Edson schools into lock-down that day, though police later discounted the woman’s story as untrue.

An incident in Hinton last month in which a 7-year-old was abducted but later escaped, also contributed to Jasper Elementary’s decision to increase security.

Blanchette-Dubé said it has been up to the teachers to address the reasons behind the locked doors with their classes. “There have been good discussions,” he said.

Jackie Corkery, mother of two Jasper Elementary students, said the measure is reassuring. “It makes me more comfortable knowing anyone who goes in has to walk past the office,” she said. “As long as the kids have been told so they know to go to the front.”

Signs on side doors instruct students and visitors to use the main door. 

The response has been positive, Blanchette-Dubé said. “Parents that have approached me have been thankful,” he said, adding the locked-doors policy may be temporary or indefinite, pending future review, and that the students will quickly adapt to the change. “Once we get used to a routine, it will be a fact of life.”

Though events in neighbouring towns may make parents nervous, the elementary school principal believes Jasper is safe. “I still think it’s a very safe community, but we still need to be on the cautious side when dealing with children,” Blanchette-Dubé said. 

The decision to lock the doors was made after discussions with staff, and after Blanchette-Dubé asked himself whether it was an action he would take in his own home. “So this is the extension,” he said. “We have to respond as parents. We’re responsible.”