Bossier Parish Schools Superintendent D.C. Machen, Jr. has issued a letter responding to concerns over schools safety in the wake of the Sandyhook Elementary shooting tragedy last month in Newtown, Conn.:
"As each of us grapples with the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, every school system across the nation is surely examining its own security measures and safety protocols in place. Let me assure you, Bossier Schools is.
We have the responsibility to every student, parent, employee and citizen of Bossier Parish to ensure a safe learning environment. While no one can predict a person’s actions, it is our belief the best defense is to be proactive, have an emergency plan in place, and practice it regularly.
Bossier Schools was fortunate to be the 2009 recipient of a $460,000 Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Grant, authored by Danny Dison, Bossier Schools’ Director of Security. The grant money enabled Bossier to implement a comprehensive emergency plan throughout the district and train all of our school leaders in emergency response and management.
Routine fire, weather and crisis lockdown drills are conducted throughout the school year to practice safety procedures and familiarize students and staff with them. Every classroom has emergency flip charts with an alert notification system and detailed instructions for various scenarios and teachers are instructed to keep their classroom doors locked at all times of the day.
Each school also has a camera surveillance system; every principal has a First Responder radio tied directly to local law enforcement; law agencies are linked to Bossier Schools via a detailed Web-based mapping system; and the entries at several of our elementary schools have been retrofitted and we are continually updating others with safe entrance barriers.
Bossier Schools also has full-time School Resource Officers at every middle and high school, a program that has proven itself effective time and time again. We are evaluating the need to add SROs at elementary schools.
Are these measures enough? No. Never. That is why, on behalf of Bossier Schools, it is our pledge to remain vigilant every day in pursuing ways to better protect every child and employee in our care."
