CATALDO — Safety is the watchword at Canyon Elementary School as much-needed fire and emergency upgrades to the building have been installed or are in the process of being updated.

The east and west exterior doors and glass have been replaced with solid doors and escape windows have been added to every ground floor classroom through grant money from Idaho Office of Safety and Security.

Wearing many hats in the Kellogg School district, Alexa Griffin said the comforting confines of the school community sometimes blinds people to the physical needs to upgrade the space.

Griffin is a parent to two Canyon students, a member of the school’s parent organization and Kellogg School district board member. 

“It’s good to realize someone is thinking about my children in that way, which is a relief to me and my anxiety. As a parent, I don’t know if I would have realized our doors were hollow wooden doors and the safety issues that entails,” Griffin said.

She put the credit toward Canyon Principal Jennifer Ferreira, especially for keeping much-needed safety features as a top priority for the school building.

“Ms. Ferreira went to bat to look out for her school personally and find a grant,” Griffin said.

The second round of grants is also bringing a new comprehensive fire detection system for the school.

Superintendent Lance Pearson said in response to the upgrade that, “The windows and doors at CES were rudimentary and should have been replaced a long time ago. When the Securing our Futures grants were made available, the need for replacing doors and windows at CES was an obvious choice.”

In a phone interview, Ferreira shared that the upgrades going into effect were noted as priorities in vulnerability reports for the school through the Office of Safety and Security every three years.

Phase 1 of the grants came out in June 2023, and the school district was determined to be eligible for $60,000 worth of upgrades. 

Two exterior doors, four hollow wooden classroom doors and the standard windows without escape options were slated for replacement. Some of the doors were technically acceptable, but had risky glass that was on the thinner side and less protective.

“It was really important to get those updated and changed and I was really excited to get that grant approved,” Ferreira said.

Phase 2 of the grant became available in January and even though there is a pool of about $6 million left, Ferreira said about $23 million worth of grant applications were turned in. 

Canyon was one of the successful grant bids to receive a new fire detection system and Pinehurst Elementary also wrote a successful grant to have a fire detection system installed in their building.

The district saw more safety features at Canyon in need of an upgrade than Pinehurst Elementary, Pearson said when it comes to school security it is a never-ending process to upgrade to the most affordable and safe options available.  

“The entire district is thankful for Jenny Ferreira and Tim Etherton's work to apply and receive these grants,” Pearson said.

As a school board member, Griffin said the improvements have been a relief to see in an area where money for upgrades is not always easy to find.

“At the district, we’re really happy to see they’re not just sitting waiting for funds to magically fall in their lap, they’re actively putting in the work to make sure they can take care of our buildings along with us,” Griffin said.

    Solid fire-rated doors are now in use at Canyon Elementary School as a safety upgrade from the previous hollow wooden doors in the building. Solid doors are safer in the event of a fire.
  

    Canyon Elementary School recently replaced the building's hollow wooden doors with solid fire-rated doors.