by Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
There are many concerns about the safety of students at schools and the measures that the schools are taking to ensure that the students are well protected. Schools need to make sure that the learning environment is safe in the classroom as well as on school property.
Ironically, contained within the elementary student recreational area is ‘Katie’s Playground’, a multi-functional play facility constructed with donated money in memory of Katie Collman a 10-year-old who was abducted, sexually molested, and murdered in January 2005.
Last year, prompted by a number of school shootings in the nation, area schools and police departments held active shooter training.
However, keeping students safe from intruders with guns is only one piece of the puzzle.
Scott County School District 1 had a recent kidnapping scare on January 2, when an 8-year-old girl was taken from the Austin Elementary playground and carried over a 4-foot fence installed just last year during an elementary school demolition and re-construction.
Superintendent of SCSD1 Trevor Jones said during the board of trustees meeting on January 9 that the incident was unfortunate and scary. “Due to this situation,” he said, “the school is looking into the policies and taking the proper protective measures to make the playground safer.”
The protective measures that District 1 is taking include replacing the 4-foot fence around the playground with one that is 6 feet high, having the school resource officer present around the perimeters of the playground, students will be on only one playground at a time, having additional school personnel watch the perimeters and offer indoor recess as an option for students, Jones wrote in a letter to parents.
“School Safety has many layers to it and any one ‘solution’ is not going to solve the needs in today’s world,” said Marc Slaton, superintendent of Scott County School District 2. He also added that District 2 was also looking into their perimeter security to see if any additional changes need to be made.
“This is no different than what we do throughout the year already as one of our top priorities in Scott 2 is to make our buildings and campuses as reasonably safe as possible,” Slaton said.
Crothersville Community School superintendent Dr. Chrystal Street said that the students at Crothersville are safe and the school feels good about the safety of the students.
The elementary playground already has a 6-foot chain-link fence around it but Street said in the future, there might be additional changes if student safety warrants them. “The opportunity to review is always a possibility,” she said.
Street reminded residents to be vigilant and aware of what is going on when it comes to the students’ safety and that “safety is the number one priority”.