Curtis High School has complied with the city wide mandate to put over 21,000 alarms on the doors of every Public School in NYC. This stems from the passing of Avonte´s Law, named for Avonte Oquendo, a 14 year old autistic student who left his Queens school undetected and was found deceased a few months later.

While Curtis had the alarms installed on October 6th, the school was originally set for an installation in May. The alarms are on every door, except for the main entrance. These alarms are active from 8am-1:57pm, since every student is now required to have an eighth period class, according to the Department of Education.

“Punishments for setting off alarms range from a warning, parents being called, or police being notified if someone is missing. The punishments then increase to detention and suspension, depending on how frequently it happens,” said Mr. Burbano, assistant principal of security. When the alarms first went into effect, they went off; 20 times on Tuesday the 6th, 17 times on Wednesday the 7th, and 22 times on Thursday the 8th.  By the third week the new alarms were only going off about 50 times a week.

At first students would just simply leave through the main entrance during their lunch periods and then come back in the same way. Now, a new system has been put in place where any student entering after third period must come in through the main entrance. If a student has left school and swiped in twice, the computer shows this information and the student is not allowed to enter the building again for that day.

The Curtis Hill Deli is the nearest deli where students go before, during, and after school. According to the owner, business has not changed since the door alarms have been installed.

Although the door alarms were installed to keep students from leaving during the school day, they have also been effective at keeping intruders out. According to Mr. Burbano, “It is too soon to tell whether or not the door alarms are as effective as they were intended to be, only time will tell.”