Active Shooter Drills, School Safety Update: Superintendent North

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — The Douglas County School System sent out an update on school safety Tuesday, letting the community know how the school system is partnering with law enforcement on proactive safety and security measures.

Here is the update:

Dear Parents, Students, and Community Members,

I hope our students and staff members enjoyed their time off for spring break, and I hope everyone has returned to school refreshed and ready to put forth their best effort for the upcoming End-of-Year and End-of-Course testing.

Please know that we at the school system remain committed to providing a safe environment for our students and staff. Following are a few of the ways the school system is proactive about safety and security.

Safety Drills
Every school holds routine safety drills. Some of the drills are mandated by law, and others are optional and determined by potential emergencies and the needs of students. Safety drills include: response to threats of fire, chemical or gas leaks, and bombs. Other drills include response to intruders or criminal activity in the neighboring area. Drills are also held for threatening weather situations and health related crises and interventions.

(For more news like this, sign up for Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Douglasville — or other neighborhoods. Access Patch on the go with our iPhone app or our brand new app for Android phone users.)

Partnership with Law Enforcement

• The Douglas County School System partners with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglasville City Police Department. While some schools have one or more full-time School Resource Officers (SROs) designated to an individual school, other schools are covered and supported by roving SROs.
• All SROs are sworn officers with the same full rights as any other Sheriff’s Deputy or Police Officer. Their purpose is to serve as a resource to students, parents, and school administrators.
• To prepare for the worst-case scenario, Police Officers and Sheriff’s Deputies practice active shooter drills in our school buildings during the summer. The partnership between the school system and both agencies provides an active collaborative safety team to ensure the safety of students and staff in the Douglas County School System.

As always, we appreciate the support of our parents, students, staff, and community as we strive to provide our students an excellent education in a safe environment.

Sincerely,

Trent North, Superintendent
Douglas County School System

Image via Shutterstock