HOUSTON – At the Imani School in southwest Houston, class is in session.
But the lesson plan is centered around school safety.
“That’s how times have changed,” principal Patricia Hogan Williams said. “Parents now, who may come to the school [now say] tell me about security. That in years past was never a part of the conversation.”
Williams has served as the head of the school for 35 years.
“I’ve been doing research on this for at least three years,” she said.
In hopes of adding another layer of security to protect her preschool to middle school-aged students.
That’s when she met Anna Reger. The founder of Flip Lok.
“What’s proprietary about it is the way it flips,” Reger said.
She says the patented lock is manufactured in Houston and can hold up to 2,000 pounds of pressure.
“We wanted something [so] simple to use, a 5-year-old could go into action,” Reger explained.
Reger says the reaction is good.
“We are on the approved vendor’s list for Humble ISD, we are working with HISD,” she said. “I’m working with legislation in January to work on getting secondary locks approved.”
For the mother of six, it’s personal.
“When I drop my daughter off at school, I want to know that she’s going to come home,” she said.
KPRC 2 watched as she showed the elementary-aged students how to work the lock.
First, they hear an alarm— then, whoever is closest to the door flips the lock and runs to hide in the back of the classroom, until given all clear. A difficult moment for some students and their parents.
“Still, just a level of sadness that this is where we are at,” parent Amber Lefelar said.
“We can’t forget about what happened in Santa Fe, or what happened in Uvalde,” another parent, Jermaine Davis, said.
Shondrell Woodward, a high school teacher and parent says it’s needed.
“Just be more proactive in keeping kids safe, versus reactive,” Woodward said.
Learning— reading, writing, and school safety.
“It’s distressing to believe and to realize that now this has to be a part of what we do every day,” Williams said. “Is to protect our children against active shooters.. that should not be.. but it is.”