Nursery School Security and Safety Enhancements

The Trinity Church Nursery School began offering high-quality pre-school experiences in 1969. Over the intervening five decades, TCNS has grown in reputation, popularity, and its use of the church building. Each weekday, dozens of children play and learn in three classrooms, in Randle Hall, and outside on the playground. During the school year (September to June) over 130 children are enrolled for classes. During the summer, TCNS holds "Camp Amigos" for summer fun and an introduction to the Spanish language. Overall, TCNS is in session eleven months over the calendar year.

TCNS is a licensed school in the State of Illinois. Licensing is reviewed every three years and involves, among other things, inspection of the facilities. In 2016, the licensing inspection raised concern that the building does not comply with recent changes to fire and safety codes. Immediately, the Trinity Board of Trustees began to investigate the deficiencies and determine a plan for achieving compliance. With assistance from a consultant, and in close conversation with the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Trustees were able to define a set of changes that are both effective and preserve the architectural integrity of the building.

Without these or equivalent modifications to the building, TCNS will lose its licensure and be forced to close. The Church Council and Board of Trustees do not want to see that happen.

The most visible change that will be required by the plan is the enclosure of the two main stairwells in the Parish House. There are three important reasons to enclose the stairwells:

Isolating floors from one another. Should a fire break out, the stairwells are the only means for the fire to spread between floors of the building. Enclosing the stairwells reduces the scale of a fire. In addition, the enclosed stairwells will prevent smoke from traveling between floors.
Eliminating the "chimney" effect. Fires need air. Open stairwells act as chimneys to draw air into the fire and keep it burning. The enclosed stairwells will tend to choke a fire and reduce both its intensity and duration.
Providing a safe pathway to ground level. The enclosed stairwells, clear of smoke and not exposed to fire on any floor, allow building occupants to leave the building safely.

It is important to note that in order to be effective in these three ways, all doors to the stairwells will be auto-closing and must be closed at all times. There are existing doors - especially on the second floor of the west (front) stairwell - that must be fitted with auto-closing units to maintain the smoke-proof zone.

The Trinity Board of Trustees have worked with an architectural firm specializing in churches to define a plan for enclosing the stairwells that is effective, affordable, and in concert with the interior architectural elements.

West (front) stairwell changes

Level	Prior view	New appearance
2nd floor
1st floor
Lower level

East (rear) stairwell changes

Level	Prior view	New appearance
2nd floor
1st floor

Improving Physical Security of the Nursery School

With the mandated work to enclose the stairwells, the Trinity Board of Trustees is preparing plans to make three additional changes that would improve the security of the building and particularly that of the TCNS classrooms. The current security model is to challenge those wishing entry at the Parish House door and to "buzz them in" after visual inspection on closed-circuit TV. Experience has shown several drawbacks to this approach:

The visitor must remain standing in the weather outside until someone can answer the door either electronically (during TCNS hours) or physically (for evening meetings).
Once the visitor is allowed into the Parish House Lobby, they have the run of the entire building. There are no additional barriers to wandering anywhere without permission or need.
Given the inconvenience of answering the door during evening meetings, it is routine for meeting organizers to unlock the door - thereby defeating any security for the persons or property within.

Thought has been given to these security issues for several years. The Trustees believe that this will be a favorable moment to combine the required work with elective improvement in security. The planned approach is to add two additional doors and three electronic locks inside the Parish House so that the outside door can be unlocked without unduely exposing property and people - especially children - to new hazards.

The plan shows how two new doors would be installed. One would limit movement toward the Parlor and Sanctuary. A second door would close off the hallway to the TCNS classroom and church office. Finally, a new wall would be installed to block use of the elevator. The two new doors and the new door to the enclosed stairwell would all be equipped with electronic locks for remote activation and for local opening with a physical token (e.g. keycard, fob, etc.). While not all of the details have been worked out, this change would address the three observed drawbacks:

The Parish House door would be unlocked during business hours and by meeting organizers when they arrived at the church, thereby allowing visitors to come in out of the weather without assistance.
Once in the Parish House lobby, a visitor would only have access to the Library and the Green Room without either a keycard or being recognized and "buzzed in" to other parts of the building.
Since the Library and Green Room would be accessible without additional help, meetings held at the church would be held primarily in those rooms so that other doors would not need to be either unlocked or "propped open."

The Trinity Board of Trustees believes that these modifications would improve both the welcome we wish to extend to others while providing greater peace of mind to TCNS teachers and parents about personal safety.