Student found in possession of a gun at Springfield school

Yesterday, at the beginning of the school day at Lee Elementary, a gun was found in the book bag of an early elementary aged student who brought it to school from home. The teacher was able to alert the administration first thing, and the weapon was recovered from inside the book bag without incident. We applaud the staff for their efforts. All students and staff were safe during the day and the District security team immediately deployed to Lee school. The Springfield Police Department responded quickly to assist. The investigation is still on-going and the weapon is in their possession. Students and staff were able to continue with their normal schedules of teaching and learning during the day yesterday. We notified staff and families at Lee School yesterday.

 

As always, we encourage “if you see something, say something.” We share in our country’s sorrow over the most recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In a time of such unspeakable tragedy, we want to reiterate our commitment to providing a safe environment every day for all students and staff. Security is at the forefront of our daily operations in all buildings and we continuously look for ways to improve our safety protocols. We offer our thoughts and prayers to those that have been affected in Texas. It is heartbreaking and tragic to say the least. Schools should be the safest place in our country as we grow young minds and help them be college and career ready upon graduation. We must not become complacent and must continue to support our students, families and educators so that they feel safe and have the right supports in place. These measures do not come without a cost, and we urge lawmakers to continue to support districts as we increase our security measures and security staffing.

Here are some of the ways in which we are working to keep our District 186 family safe:

• We have controlled access into every building with only one public entrance. All guests are screened prior to entry and sign in. All middle and high schools have a front desk monitor.

• Security is one of the central principles of our facilities master plan and all upgrades have and will include improved security features in our buildings.

• Our facilities plan calls for double door buzz in systems at each school entrance. This work is in process this year. We have added 10 additional double secure entrances to date.

• Our facilities plan also allowed for an extensive overhaul of our security camera systems to add high resolution cameras and hundreds of additional cameras throughout all of our elementary schools.

• All high schools and alternative schools have fully implemented the use of metal detectors for students and guests. Middle schools will be equipped with metal detectors when we return to school for the 2022-2023 school year.

• We have armed police as well as civilian security at all middle schools, high schools and alternative schools and a team of 12 civilian security guards that support our elementary schools. We also have a team of substitute security staff that know our schools as well.

• We have trained k-9 dogs that search for guns, drugs and ammunition that are at our disposal along with a trained officer who conducts scheduled and random searches. Random wand searches at the middle and high schools are also conducted. We have also implemented metal detectors, wanding and bag searches for entry into large events, including City Tournament and Graduation.

• Every building has detailed emergency response plans that are followed for various situations. Staff have been trained on how to organize students and where to go. All schools participate in law enforcement drills that serve as practice for a variety of emergency scenarios including active shooter.

• We have a District Coordinator of Safety & Security who is a retired SPD Officer.

• We have a great working relationship with all law enforcement partners and have annual meetings to coordinate our drills and response protocols. We have participated in security simulations and had tabletop planning sessions for preparedness.

Not only do we have measures in place to ensure the physical safety of students, but we provide support to students who may be experiencing emotional distress and/or anxiety in the wake of these tragedies. We have a full time social worker at each school and psychologists are available every day. We encourage students and families to reach out to their school whenever the need arises. Lastly, we encourage every citizen to, “Say something if they see something” that doesn’t seem right. This is absolutely essential.