School is back in full swing in Adair County. Buses are rolling, and schools are full of students, faculty and staff for another year.
This is the first year for a law to take effect that prohibits students from using cell phones during instructional time during the school day. For parents who stress about the lack of contact and a concern for their child’s safety, the district has a clear message: the safety of everyone on campus is a top priority.
“I know this is a very big ask from us as a school district, but trust us knowing that we have proactive and reactive plans for most every emergency. We are going to lay our lives on the line to protect your babies. Please trust us,” said Robbie Harmon district safe schools coordinator and director of pupil personnel.
When school and safety are mentioned in the same sentence, minds may go to potential intruders. The safety of everyone includes intruders but reaches far beyond that.
All first responders, police, fire, EMS, emergency management and 911 have an annual meeting with the administration and school safety coordinators prior to the first day of school. This year’s meeting took place on July 21.
During the meeting, an “all hazards approach” is taken to school safety. The safety of students and staff includes any potential hazards such as tornadoes, severe weather, medical emergencies, fire, intruders and anything that could pose any form of danger on campus.
Every emergency department reviews the plan that is in place and discusses it with school administrators. Responders can give their opinions or explain why it needs to be done a different way and likewise, the school, personnel do the same. The plan is then implemented with what is in the best interest of the students.
Emergency 911 dispatchers have access to the school camera system, and those cameras are always on a live feed. This is another tool that can help emergency responders.
Dispatchers can see what is going on and know where to guide responders in any situation.
“These meetings are phenomenal. We look at things like what happens during a tornado. The national weather service was here. It’s an all hazards approach,” said Harmon.
“We practice every single drill with kids,” he said.
The district does not provide a lot of specifics about the safety plan to ensure that the informa-tion does not get into the wrong hands. But Harmon assures everyone that the plan is extensive, and training with staff and emergency services is a major part of the process.
“A lock down takes place when an internal or external threat is identified, no entry or exit. So to communicate with people, we may not let you on campus because we don’t know if you are here to do good or if you are here to do bad. Sometimes people just showing up gets in the way of the good guys trying to solve the situation,” said Harmon. “That’s not to say that I am not a daddy first, and my wife teaches at one of the schools, but I can’t get in the way of a police officer or a firefighter, or an EMT trying to render aid.”
“We are blessed to live in a town where our city, county, and school district understands that we have got to keep our kids safe,”
said Harmon. “We live where our sheriff, judge executive, magistrates,
mayor, city council, school board, and superintendent can all agree that at the end of the day student safety is a top priority.”
Kentucky Center for School Safety lists Adair County at the top of the list with school safety plans.
“We want to be proactive, we want to prevent things from happening, but when something happens, we have a plan to protect kids, protect lives, protect property, protect visitors, and protect our staff,” said Harmon.
Until about two years ago, it was common practice across the state for there to be only designated personnel to make the decision to call 911. Now, if there is any question or concern, they are encouraged to call 911 immediately.
“Now we say call 911, we will get the professionals here and sort it out…A ‘my bad’ is okay, an ‘I wished I had of ’ is not okay,” said Harmon.
Another tool that was implemented is the STOP tip line. It is on the school’s website and provided free by Kentucky Center for School Safety.
Anyone can anonymously submit a tip about any unsafe situation in school (bullying, weapons, drugs or alcohol, etc). The information goes through homeland security and the report is immediately sent to Harmon, the school resource officer, and the school.
“The tip line can be used for anything – from bullying to a need for food,” said Harmon. “It is truly anonymous. The only thing we ask is that people don’t abuse it.”
A 2019 school safety bill sponsored by Sen. Max Wise and the late Rep. John “Bam” Carney mandated accessible, and Adair County schools now have 22 AEDs across campus.
The individual schools each have a School Resource Officer and a school safety coordinator. If any parent has concerns or questions, Harmon encourages them to contact either of them or reach out directly to him.
Each school is assigned a school resource officer, who is a certified police officer. The city police, sheriff ’s department, and state police also routinely patrol the campus and interact with students. Every department has the same goal – to keep the campus safe at all times.
by: Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
