BERLIN– School system officials say student safety remains their number one priority in the wake of the tragedy in Nashville.
With the school shooting that occurred in Nashville on March 27 on the minds of many, Worcester County Public Schools officials said this week that ongoing efforts to review safety practices and make improvements to security measures remain at the forefront.
“Certainly in the wake of the national tragedy our thoughts go in to how strong our school safety plans are and making us take a close look at the policies we have in place,” said Annette Wallace, the school system’s chief safety and academic officer for grades 9-12.
Last fall, Wallace re-formed the school safety committee initially created after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. In the months since, two subcommittees have been created—one to study the possibility of implementing weapons detection systems in schools and one to focus on communication. Wallace said the weapons detection system subgroup, which features representation from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, has been reviewing the various types of systems and will be traveling to Dorchester County to look at systems in place there.
The communication subgroup is reviewing messaging practices and looking for ways to improve notification to the community and parents when issues arise.
Dear Readers,
If Ms. Wallace is indeed serious, the issue of glass doors and entryways needs to be addressed. Simply locking doors will not deter an individual with a firearm making entry, as was demonstrated during the recent school shooting. Many might say that bullet proof doors would be part of an overall answer, but when new schools are designed, the Principal’s input is frequently ignored. When an incident occurs, there is no way for the Principal and school staff to secure the building resulting in injury and fatalities. Hopefully Ms. Wallace will review this as she and her team search for answers to securing buildings.
Regards,
Paladin