Security Cameras Coming To Salem Schools This Summer

SALEM, MA — Security cameras will be installed at Salem High School and the city's public middle schools this summer as plans to upgrade school safety.

Superintendent Steve Zrike said the cameras will be added when he addressed what can be done to make the city schools as safe as possible following the Texas school shooting on Tuesday that killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.

There was an increased police presence at the schools this week.

"It's hard to prevent a mass event but we can certainly mitigate one as much as possible through visitor protocols, our entry systems and our security systems," Zrike said during his weekly Facebook Live session with families. "There is certainly some national reckoning here that we have to have. I think we need to do what we can in our sphere of influence as a public school and as a city, and I can assure you we will do that."

Zrike said communication with students and families and creating a connection with students is one way to help create a feeling of belonging and support, and could help alert staff and administration of a potentially troubled student.

"What we can't do is just say 'OK,' forget, and wait for the next incident to happen," Zrike said. "I do feel like we've been on a bit of a hamster wheel with these events the last few years. We need to be more aggressive as a society and as a nation in how we address school violence."

Zrike added that he would like to develop more community dialogue on mental health issues as well, which many educators and experts believe have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 health crisis.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)