This story was submitted by Allie Senn (10, J&C)

In our increasingly changing world, schools have not only become a place for learning but a place of crime. According to NCES, National Center for Education Statistics, 78.9% of schools reported crime on their school campus during the 2015-16 school year. Types of crime included violence, serious violence, theft and other types of crime. 

Since the 2015-16 school year, school safety has become an even bigger national topic.

Because Manual is an open campus, and kids walk back and forth from three separate buildings, staff not only has to worry about inside threats but also outside threats. People from the neighborhood can walk onto campus anytime and be around the students during the school day. 

Additionally, because Manual is located in Old Louisville, school staff can get a little more worried about the students’ safety than if it were located in another neighborhood.

According to, an areavibes report, the crime rate in Old Louisville is estimated to be at around 10,355 per 100,00 people. This is well above both Louisville’s average, 4,769 per 100,000 people and Kentucky’s average, 2,355 per 100,00 people.    

 Security guard, John Palmer, comes to Manual every day and monitors the activity of the staff and students to ensure school safety. 

“Old Louisville is not a horrible neighborhood by any means. The issue is that it is a very transient community with many people back and forth and many temporary situations,” Plamer said. 

However, at Manual, we take many measures to make our school as safe as possible. We have IDs to make sure students and staff are the only people in the building. We have a buzzer system and we have security such as Palmer to make sure everyone at Manual is safe. 

While school-related crimes are becoming a bigger and more prominent issue, Manual is taking steps to make our school safer for everyone.