The halls were measured today to see how many gallons of paint would be needed to paint stripes along the base of the hallway walls, intended to guide first responders through the school in the event of an emergency.
Mary LaPak, Rockwood Chief Communications Officer, said the measuring process for paint has started in all Rockwood buildings.
“We will be bidding that project out and the timeline calls for that color coding of hallways to be completed over the summer months at all of our schools,” LaPak said.
Sophomore Principal Kyle Devine said a project like this would take a lot of time.
“The goal in emergency situations is to make sure first responders can clearly understand where they are in the building and where, potentially, people in trouble are,” Devine said. “It’s something that is being asked of us as a district, it’s just another layer of security.”
The Parkway School District is also planning on implementing the stripes in their own hallways, as this protocol is being suggested statewide.
“If you went to a Parkway school, you would see the same room numbering system that we have,” Devine said.
Devine said painting these stripes is not limited to a school setting, but could potentially be used in other large buildings such as a mall.
School Resource Officer Steve Aspinall said the new paint is crucial for emergency response efficiency.
“When you color code sections of the building, the police department will have on their computers where these color coded areas are,” Officer Aspinall said. “If something has happened in purple, they can go to purple on the first level or whatever level it will be.”
Systems similar to this can be beneficial in any large building, Officer Aspinall said.
“This came about after multiple school shootings where officers not familiar with the building would come in and not have any idea where the incidents were happening or where the suspect is,” Officer Aspinall said.
Ethan Maloy, junior, said he sees benefits in sectioning hallways.
“I think that the room numbers on the outside of the school and the sectioning of the colors in the school is a really great idea for emergency responses, whatever the situation,” Maloy said. “I don’t think the students really care about the paint of the hallways, and it will help emergency services a lot.”
