By Barbara Augsdorfer, editor for the Effingham Herald
In the aftermath of the shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County Sept. 4, the Herald reached out to the Effingham County School District for details on the safety measures in place at all Effingham County Schools.
“The safety of our students and staff is of the greatest importance. Every effort is made to provide a safe and secure learning environment on our campuses,” The district released in a statement. “We believe that staff performance and student achievement are enhanced in a school in which everyone feels safe and secure.”
The shooting at Apalachee High School left two students and two teachers dead, along with nine others wounded (one teacher and eight students), according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The 14-year-old alleged shooter was arrested and charged with four counts of felony murder and will be tried as an adult.
The investigation of the shooting at Apalachee High Schools is ongoing.
Other safety measures at the schools include:
· K-I-S-TTM locks on the doors of every classroom and other doors to create a safe zone.
· Centegix CrisisAlertTM system --The system provides every staff member a badge that allows them to activate an alert when they need the assistance of an administrator; or the school needs to be locked down due to a dangerous situation.
· Access control devices on the main exterior doors of schools.
· Safety training for all employees.
· Kloud-12 cameras are installed in all classrooms for classroom safety.
· The district is a recipient of a $250,000 Safer Georgia Schools Grant
Ashley Keiffer, the district’s safety coordinator, gave the school board an update at its Aug. 8 meeting.
During the most recent legislative sessions, laws have been signed into law requiring schools to have AEDs and CPR-certified staff. Keiffer told the board that ECSD is “ahead” on these requirements as each school has at least two AEDs and some have four – depending on the school’s size. All staff have been trained on using the AEDs; and staff that are not currently CPR certified have a window of time to get that certification.
School Safety Plans
As for each school’s safety plan, Keiffer said, “All 15 (school safety plans) are the same. So, we’re very uniform on what we’re doing.” He added that in accordance with HB 147 that was passed and signed into law 18 months ago, all safety plans have to be signed off by local law enforcement, signed of by local emergency management director, and then uploaded to Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA).
“Last year we were one of the first schools in the state to get that in on time,” Keiffer told the board. “We’re right on track this year to be the same.”
Keiffer went on to explain some of the protocols with a Level 3 Lockdown, which is when there is a “threat of violence within the school” and/or “a serious situation that could jeopardize the safety of students.”
A Level 3 Lockdown can only be canceled when cleared by law enforcement.
Keiffer said problems arose when there was an “inadvertent” or “accidental” punch that indicated a Level 3 Lockdown.
“Basically, the only person who should be moving at that point is the school SRO,” Keiffer said of a Level 3 Lockdown, real or accidental. “They're going to go to where that that alert came from. They're going to do one of two things: confirm that it's an accidental thing, or they're going to neutralize the threat. One of the two.”
Keiffer went on to explain the SRO would confirm with the person who did the card punch that it was accidental and then call 911 to stop the dispatch; and then find the principal or assistant principal and tell them it was an accidental lockdown.
Parents would be notified via the district messaging system that it was an accidental lockdown. To come out of a Level 3 lockdown, both the principal (or assistant principal) and the SRO will make an all-call on the school intercom system, reading a scripted statement, telling staff to return to normal operations. At that point the K-I-S-TTM locks will be opened.
“The principal, assistant principal, and SRO will go through every hallway and make sure that every (classroom) door is unlocked, and everyone is okay,” Keiffer continued.
“These things cause a tremendous amount of anxiety. They really do. They're scary,” Keiffer said. “You don't know what's going on. It’s their job is to check with (staff and students) to make sure they're okay. And if they need a little bit of time to get composed and get their classes composed, that’s perfectly fine.”
Keiffer added that if a Level 3 Lockdown happens while students are loading or unloading at the bus ramps, students who are still on the bus ramps will be instructed by the drivers to board a bus – any bus – and drivers will take them somewhere off campus (not too far) until they get the “all clear” signal.
“It’s not uncommon for us to get six to eight Level 3 Lockdown (alerts) per year, but we’ve learned from every single one of them,” Keiffer said.
“We’re always on a Level 1 Lockdown,” District Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford said. “The elementary schools, they’re accustomed to that, but that hasn’t always been the case with the middle- and high schools.
“It’s super important that they keep those doors locked at all times,” Dr. Ford continued. “We’ve charged our principals to put people in charge of checking those exterior doors throughout the day to make sure they’re not propped open.”
Keiffer added that the SROs are to check each exterior door at least once before lunch, and again after lunch. He wants them to “be out and be seen,” Keiffer said.
