Cornell visits Pilgrim, has suggestions to improve school safety

By Theresa Brown
Posted 5/24/18

By THERESA BROWN In his visit to Pilgrim High School's Political Involvement Club (Pil-PI) on Tuesday Nathan Cornell, a candidate for Warwick School Committee member for District 3, suggested what students could do and how they could speak up about their

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Cornell visits Pilgrim, has suggestions to improve school safety

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In his visit to Pilgrim High School’s Political Involvement Club (Pil-PI) on Tuesday Nathan Cornell, a candidate for Warwick School Committee member for District 3, suggested what students could do and how they could speak up about their concerns to improve safety in Warwick schools.

The Pil-PI Club allows students at Pilgrim High School to talk to local politicians and share, ideas, concerns and information about elections and what it is like to run for a political position.

When questioned about the safety of students, especially after the recent shootings, Cornell said, “No one should ever feel unsafe in school. Schools should be where students feel safest.”

He discussed many ways to work towards the overall safety of everyone in the school buildings, focusing mainly on changing and implementing more training for students and faculty. He spoke with the group about making sure that teachers were actually trained on what to do in a lockdown or fire situation, as they weren’t this year due to contract issues. Cornell agreed with the students that substitute teachers should be included in training regarding lockdowns and fire drills each summer before the school year begins.

Cornell discussed watching doors with the students as they expressed that the back door where many students enter the school in the morning is not supervised by any faculty members and could easily be a liability for the school.

Cornell also spoke with student Zachary Lafontaine, a member of his campaign team and the organizer of Pil-PI about the need for more student resource officers, as with recent statistics and the large size of Pilgrim High School having just one is not enough to monitor the whole school.

Not surprisingly, Lafontaine would vote for Cornell if he could.

“[Cornell] knows what is right. He’s out there for the teachers and he’s supporting the students,” he said.

Lafontaine is certain that if elected, Cornell will make the right decisions for the students in Warwick schools ensuring better safety for everyone.

“When he has the ability to, I know that he will fight for what’s right,” said Lafontaine. “When we talked about bringing the fire safety and lock-downs to the next level he agreed on that.”

In addition to the discussion on safety, students also questioned Cornell about the way that budgets are used in the school.

They discussed the new e-boards implemented in each classroom, which allow teachers to show videos, write and engage the students in other ways. While some teachers are finding these helpful, others voiced complaints about the location of the e-boards, as they are not effective in the setup of multiple classrooms. Cornell also addressed the budgets for these and the Chromebooks given to each student. When voicing concerns about the cost for Chromebook revisions and placement of e-boards, Cornell described the issues as a “complete lack of organization.”

The issues with new technology wasn’t the only topic that the students felt was misused in the budget, as they pointed to doorstoppers that had been purchased recently for $10,000. The students asked Cornell how he would help and fight to use funds wasted on things such as doorstoppers instead to contribute to the overall safety of students and better school supplies.

Cornell explained that if elected he would focus on using budget funds on things that students feel they need by talking to them and improving the communication between them.

With this, he said that he felt more confident as this is his second time running for the position and since he is a recent graduate he knows what the students want and need because of the closeness in age.

Having graduated in 2016 from Toll Gate High School, Cornell is now taking classes at the University of Rhode Island, pursuing a major in history.

“[The Warwick school system] paid $40,000 for a new website. They could have done that for free,” Cornell said. “If elected, I want to represent the students’ interests as well.”

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    Arm every teacher AND every student. It is the only way to stop gun violence.

    Thursday, May 24, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Nathan Cornell cares about the welfare of Warwick; especially its students.

    Agree with him. Disagree with him. But give him an A for effort. He's at every School Committee meeting and many other time-consuming events around the City. He absorbs information like a sponge and will someday be a great leader in Warwick. Maybe someday soon.

    Congratulations Nathan, on your growing success.

    Happy Spring/Summer everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Friday, May 25, 2018 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    jest don't arms da mayer

    Friday, May 25, 2018 Report this

  • tellitlikeitis

    Don't GIVE him anything, you'll only entitle him more.

    Monday, May 28, 2018 Report this