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Local districts react to school shooting in Tennessee.
By Amy Wood
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Following news of the fatal school shooting in Knoxville, Tennessee Thursday morning, We asked local school districts for their reaction. We wanted to know about security measures in place to handle this type of scenario, and how parents would be notified in such an emergency. We also asked them to offer advice to parents/students to ensure the safety of everyone involved should an incident like this ever happen locally.
These are the responses we received:
“There are very few things that you can say to parents in such a horrible time. Certainly everyone works to keep schools safe. As most districts, we have cameras in schools, resource officers and security officers. Our schools have emergency plans and the principals have worked with Chief O’Donald, Sheriff Blanton, and Chief Hamm on these plans. Our law enforcement officers have done walk-thrus and practice exercises in many of our schools. We are fortunate to have 3 people in charge of law enforcement that put such a priority on school safety. Our principals and asst. principals carry Nextel phones with the push to talk feature… They also have student info loaded onto a PDA. We have the ability to do mass calling through a system called Alert Now. Parents should tell students to talk to teachers, principals or someone in the school if they see or hear anything that seems unsafe. I hate to think about it, but if anything ever happens, they should listen. The schools have plans and the plans are coordinated with police officers. Hopefully we will never use them...”
Dr. Bill James
Superintendent
Cherokee County School District
“We begin by educating our employees and students about safety and security.
We have drills to practice what to do in case of an intruder.
We encourage students to tell adults if they hear or see anything that causes concerns or fears.
We have guidance counselors for students.
We have mental health counselors for students.
We have security cameras on buses, in buildings, and outside buildings.
All buildings are secured and locked. All visitors have to enter the main office of a school.
We have School Resource officers assigned to all of our schools.
We have emergency management plans for all schools that are reviewed annually and updated.
We do everything we can to keep children and employees safe....
We have mentoring programs in all of our schools for students at risk
We have advisor - advisee programs in our secondary schools for all students. This allows students to make personal connections with adults in the building which helps with communication.”
Dr. Scott Turner
Superintendent
District Five Schools of Spartanburg County
“...We had a few folks attend the NIMS - National Incident Management System training last week - and thus will update our Crisis Management Document. We are also planning to schedule the training for all Principals sometime in the very near future and would like to conduct a drill during this school year in coordination with the Sheriffs Dept and other agencies. We continue to look for ways to ensure a safe place for students to learn.”
Dr. Joanne Avery
Deputy Superintendent
Anderson School District Four
Note: Dr. Avery tells us Knoxville is her hometown, and that she was very saddened by the news, which she first heard when we contacted her for a reaction.
“All of the principals in Anderson 3 recently went through training on the Incident Command System and have received certification from FEMA. In addition we have a computerized notification service where we can notify all parents of any sort of emergency or school closing within a matter of minutes.”
L. Hugh Smith
Superintendent
Anderson School District Three
“It is most important that we all strive to help our children feel safe when they are in our care or in the care of other trusted adults who have their safety and best interest at heart. While we want our schools to convey a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere, we do have protective procedures in place. In any emergency, we would rely heavily on media outlets such as yours to alert the public of the event and how to help us all deal with it most effectively. We also have School Messenger that may be utilized for mass calls, depending on the circumstances. Please find attached two documents that should answer your questions. The Safety Message for Parents is posted on our web site, and schools share this information with families. We hope that folks realize that school is one of the safest places to be.”
Rhonda Henderson
Director of Public Relations
Spartanburg School District 2
SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES SUMMARY (District 2 continued)
Lockdown Procedures—District Two schools are in a “protective lockdown” state at all times (classroom and storage room doors are locked, and exterior doors are locked and/or monitored). If the administration determines that additional security is needed, a lockdown announcement is made.
If a lockdown announcement is made, the following must take place: The libraries will be locked immediately, and any students in the halls will go to the nearest classroom. Cafeteria and inside and outside P.E. classes follow the school plan for lockdown. Any modification to the usual lockdown procedure will be announced by the administrator in charge.
Communication—Most classrooms are equipped with telephones to use in case of an emergency, i.e., severe disruption, argument, fight, medical emergency, etc. In case of a power outage resulting in telephones and intercoms being out of service, the administrative staff and faculty members communicate with walkie-talkies. Busses are equipped with mobile telephones.
Exterior Security—Except for the main entrance, exterior doors are locked when not in use. Visitors enter at the front entrance and report to the main office. Visitor passes are issued in the main office.
Fire and Bomb Threat Evacuation Procedures—Evacuation procedures are posted in each classroom. If an evacuation is necessary when students are not in class, the following procedures will be in effect: during lunch, students in the cafeteria will exit through cafeteria doors and be escorted by cafeteria supervisors/administrators to the designated area; during a class change, faculty and staff will instruct students to evacuate the building and proceed to the far edges of the campus; after hours, everyone will evacuate the building.
Tornado, Severe Weather, Earthquake, Hurricane Procedures —Every classroom is equipped with an emergency procedures guide. School administrators notify faculty/staff/students via the intercom of threats of severe weather.
Hall Monitors—Faculty members are assigned hall duty during the school day as an additional security measure. Teachers are in the doorways at class change. Administrative and assigned staff are in the hall before and after school and during class change.
Medical Emergency—If there is a medical emergency involving students or faculty, faculty/staff members are instructed to call 911 immediately.
Cameras—Multiple cameras are located throughout the building to monitor high traffic areas. All school busses are equipped with cameras.
Resource Officer—An officer is assigned to each campus and can be reached through an administrator by radio.
Facilities—All campuses are designed with or have been improved with safety in mind (crime prevention through environmental design).
SAFETY MESSAGE FOR PARENTS (Spartanburg School District 2)
Recognizing that schools are not immune to natural and manmade hazards, Spartanburg School District 2 and its individual schools have emergency plans in place for the safety and well-being of students and staff. These safety plans include provisions for school lockdowns and for evacuation to off-site shelters where parents may be asked to pick up their children in the event of certain crisis situations. We certainly hope that the need for these procedures is not realized. Should they become necessary, however, the cooperation of the community will be of utmost importance to ensure security and the unhampered efforts of emergency responders.
In the case of a school lockdown, parents and other citizens are urged not to come to the school until the lockdown has been lifted. Opening the school during a lockdown would breach security and could potentially endanger everyone in the building. Should an emergency response be called for, unobstructed access to the campus is very important, as response time can be a critical factor. In the case of an extended lockdown, media will be asked to communicate the situation and keep the public informed.
In the case of evacuation to an alternative location, media will be asked to announce the site for parents to safely reunite with their children. Students will be released only to authorized persons as specified in student records. To assure that students are properly accounted for, an orderly system for reunification will be established. Parent cooperation, understanding, and patience will help to make the process less trying.
The safety of your children is a priority for us, as it is with you. With your help, we will do everything possible to keep our school a safe and healthy “home away from home.”
COMMENTS
It is realy sad that we can’t even send our kids to school without something happening to them. I mean almost everyday we hear of a teacher abusing our kids or another student shooting others. What can we do to stop this? Should we make the schools like prisons? What is this world coming to.
I’m sure that all school districts have plans in place, but the bottom line is that our children don’t, and can’t, spend their lives in a bubble. We parents have to learn to play “What would you do if...” with our children so they’re thinking about how to solve all sorts of problems before they’re confronted with them. Also, our children need cell phones because they need the opportunity to call 9-1-1 immediately anytime or anywhere they feel the need for help. The faster the police arrive, the lower the number of fatalities. That’s just the world we live in.
What good is a plan when it is not followed through? Our children do need to be taught what to do in an emergeny situation, but parents send their children to school thinking it is a safe environment when, in fact the schools are one of the most dangerous places in the world to send our children. Children killing children, teachers using our children as their own personal sex toys, drugs, alcohol....Something has to be done to stop this. I choose to keep my children at home and school them. This is not the only choice or the right choice for all, but it is the right one for me. I could not live with myself if I sent them to school and one of their classmates came in and shot them..In re to Annette - we can only teach our children so much. They are defenseless if an armed person comes into their classroom and starts shooting or if the get into a fight and the other person pulls a gun onm them…