School Districts Reassure Parents After Florida School Massacre

SPRING, TX — In the days following a school shooting in Florida, school district officials in the Houston area reaching out to their communities to reasure parents that their childeren are kept safe while on their school campuses.

On Wednesday, 19-year old Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and shot 17 students and teachers to death, sending parents all over the US scurrying to campuses to ensure their own childre were safe.

On Thursday, school districts in northwest Houston alerted parents, students and staff to the utter saddeness of the event, and promised they were doing all they could to keep their kids safe.

"My worst fear as a superintendent is the loss of a student. Today, I was shaken as I heard the news out of Florida about a school shooting claiming the lives of multiple students," Cy-Fair Superintendent Mark Henry said in his letter to parents. "There are no words that can ease the pain of a tragedy of this magnitude. Counselors will be available to speak with students who may have questions or are struggling to comprehend."

Klein ISD Superintendent Bret Champion said in a statement on that Klein ISD website that their hearts were broken with those mourning in Florida, and reassured parents that there were protocols in place to guard against active shooting scenarios.

A heavier police presence was seen at many campuses with Harris County Sheriff's deputies and deputy constable's patroling many campuses in Klein, Tomball and Spring.

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While no campus is immune from such a tragedy, school districts in Texas have taken steps in recent years to enhance their security protocols with drills and physical security.

Some of those safety measures include:

• Security vestibules and Electronic Access Control
• Perimeter Fencing
• Video Surveillance
• Security Officers
• Communications

Related: Guns, Online Threats Rampant At Schools Across Texas

Among those were Clear Creek ISD, Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Tomball ISD, Spring ISD, Cy-Fair, ISD, Katy ISD, Humble ISD and Klein ISD, many of which helped pass bonds to improve security, or made the changes through the use of the district's general fund balance.

Some school districts have taken extra measures to keeping their students safe with online tools that allow students and parents to report issues anonymously.

Such a system that was enacted in Humble ISD in 2015 and may have helped alert district leaders and police about an alleged threat at Kingwood Park High School earlier this month.

On Thursday, Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora alerted parents to a new communications tool called Anonymous Alerts on the district's website that can be used to report bullying or other sensitive issues to school or district personnel.

"District and camus administrators reviee safety protocols regularly. Our students and staff conduct safety drills throughout the school year to be prepared for different types of emergencies," Salazar-Zamora said in her letter to parents. "Your child's safety while at school is of the utmost importance."

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