Student safety is a top priority at all local school districts, and in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, superintendents are refreshing parents and patrons of protocols.

Cassville

Merlyn Johnson, Cassville superintendent, said the Cassville school district has a well-trained and well-informed staff.

“[They] understand the importance of individual and group setting student safety,” he said. “We have updated safety measures across all of our campuses over the past few years.

“We just replaced the safety and security systems across all buildings and grounds, and we have a resource officer on campus every school day and for many after school events.”

Johnson said Cassville police officers have familiarity of the layout of all school buildings and grounds.

“We often jump in too quickly to reassure our students when what they really want and need is for us to listen to their concerns,” he said. “When we move too quickly to reassurance, we stop the conversation at that point. It is far more effective to ask students to tell us more.

“As school staff and as parents, we should engage our students and children in conveying their thoughts about a range of ideas or possible solutions.”

Johnson said the greatest outcome of these conversations is letting students know that we are willing for them to talk with us about anything.

“An expression in the crisis response is to never waste a crisis, and this is our opportunity to connect deeply with our students,” he said. “Setting the stage for more open communication about all kinds of things in the future is key.”

Johnson said the district has surveillance on all of the entry doors.

“We have primary and secondary locked entry doors, two sets of locked doors at every entry,” he said. “District staff first identify visitors before buzzing them into the secured entry vestibule.

“Detailed plans are in place to ensure student and staff safety under a variety of circumstances. These plans are practiced throughout the school year. We do not share these plans with outside people.”

The Cassville school district has two intruder “lockdown” drills every school year.

“[Additionally], We will be hosting the ALICE training at the beginning of next school year,” Johnson said.

Exeter

Tim Jordan, Exeter superintendent, said school security protocols can be a challenging topic in today’s world.

“In education, we try to do the best we can every day to keep kids safe and secure,” he said. “We also recognize that safety is not just physical safety.

“Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe in our care. We try the best that we can to put measures in place to improve all areas of safety for children.”

Jordan said the Exeter school district will continue to look for ways to improve how to educate children safely.

“At Exeter, we always attempt to make the safety and security of our students a priority,” he said. “We are here to help kids grow and learn, and we want them to do that in a safe environment.”

Exeter has only two entry points in the district.

“One is at the high school office where guests must go to a camera and hit a button to talk to the office,” Jordan said. “The office must ‘buzz’ them in for them to enter the school building.

“The second entrance is at the elementary entrance, where once again, they must communicate with the secretary in order to be ‘buzzed’ into the electronically locked door.”

Jordan said the district wants the community to feel welcome to be in the school, but first and foremost, it must ensure a safe school campus.

“We have a model for our emergency procedures that was created during a training by FEMA directors several years ago,” he said. “The administration and staff review these plans and look for improvements every year. We realize that there are always a plethora of scenarios that could take place, but we try to focus on what we can control.

“Then, we can create the safest environment for learning that is possible.”

In the case of an intruder the school would go into lock down and law enforcement would be contacted immediately.

“The school district has a good partnership with the city and with local law enforcement in order to work together to keep the safest school setting that we can,” Jordan said. “We participate in drills for emergencies on a regular basis.

“We are currently in communication with a consulting company that will be working with our staff and administration to create school improvement. We are also looking to utilize their expertise to evaluate and advise our current safety and security.”

Furthermore, Jordan said the district is in the process of reviewing its doors and security during the summer months with a local door and window company.

Wheaton

Trish Wilson, Wheaton superintendent, said the number one priority for Wheaton is to keep all students and staff safe, every single day.

“We are constantly looking at ways to enhance safety,” she said. “This includes yearly training for all staff on emergency situations. Every visitor has to either be buzzed in, or on some doors you have to have a key card. All doors are locked during the day.”

In case of an intruder, the Wheaton school district would lock down its facilities.

“9-1-1 is called immediately,” Wilson said. “Teachers are trained on how to handle safety in their classrooms.”

Wilson said tornado, intruder and fire drills are practiced once every semester.

A request for comment from the Southwest school district was not returned as of presstime.

SCHOOL SECURITY

What: Area districts discuss safety protocols

Also: Intruder alerts

More: Students and staff drills