School shootings: How educators, police are making learning safer for Shore students

In the wake of the Florida school shooting that claimed 17 lives, school safety has come to the forefront of both national and local dialogue.

School officials across Delmarva are reflecting on established plans, looking toward potential security improvements and maintaining vital relationships with law enforcement and community partners. 

"I don't believe we can do anything effectively and efficiently without a safe environment," said Lou Taylor, superintendent of Worcester County public schools. "I also believe strongly that our kids have every right to come to school every day and their parents feel that they're in a safe environment."

Throughout the country, schools have fielded social media-fueled rumors warning of potential threats in the weeks since the shooting, and Maryland has seen its share of concerns among students and parents.

Each week, the Baltimore-based Maryland Center for School Safety hosts a call with local safety and security directors, administrators, counselors, resource officers and other school personnel on trends and best practices in preventing incidents and mitigating safety concerns.

Executive Director Ed Clarke said there has been an uptick in the number of potential situations brought forth by officials in regards to threats spread via social media. 

On Feb. 23, roughly a week and a half after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, The (Baltimore) Sun reported that police in Baltimore County, and Harford, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties had investigated social media threats against several schools.

Statements were released over the weekend that Worcester and Somerset school system officials had been made aware of threats. Law enforcement ultimately deemed those noncredible.

During a recent school safety update for the Somerset commissioners, Superintendent John Gaddis highlighted the importance of the school system's relationship with the county's law enforcement agencies in responding to potential threats.

"Anytime we had anything come across our wires, so to speak, we contacted them," he said. "Every single threat, potential threat has been thoroughly investigated."

Clarke encouraged parents or students who see or hear of something concerning to speak up, but discouraged them from further sharing threatening social media messages, as this adds to fear and confusion.

Many people don't understand the impact of allowing that additional anxiety to spread within their school communities, he said.

"Some students are reluctant or families are reluctant to send their children to school in the wake of what's happened in Florida. So we just need to create that safe and supportive and learning culture in all of our buildings," Clarke said.

Precaution

During his Feb. 27 school security update for the Somerset County Commissioners, Gaddis noted robocalls had gone to parents after rumors about a threat shared on Snapchat.

Because no one was able to produce a screenshot of the reported message, he said the threat was ultimately ruled "noncredible." It's common for social media users to capture an image to reshare in a situation like this, sometimes offering their own views.

Still, Somerset schools added a larger-than-normal law enforcement presence. About 30 officers from the county's four law enforcement agencies had been through the schools, he said, in the days following the reported threats.

"They've been in the parking lots when people don't know they're in the parking lots," he said. "They have been through our elementary, our intermediate and our high schools, so I appreciate how they have all come together to be supportive of what's going on."

On Tuesday morning, Gaddis said a young student on a bus told the driver they had a toy gun in their backpack. The backpack was turned over to an administrator, he said. In accordance with school rules, the incident was still treated and investigated as a "serious event," even though it involved a toy.

The child's parents were informed and "proper" discipline was handed down to the student, who left the school premises with a parent, Gaddis said.

School access

Following threats in Worcester County, officials established the Advisory Council for Worcester County Schools and Law Enforcement, which will meet monthly to discuss concerns and best practices.

Superintendent Lou Taylor said, the county has 14 school deputies, one for every facility, as well as entry systems that require visitors to check in with school officials.

Once school is in progress, he said, all outside doors into the buildings are locked and even the superintendent himself has to be buzzed in.

When visitors check in with school officials, they must give identification. That ID is run through an electronic system to ensure they're allowed to be on school property.

"We want all of our kids and employees to be able to return home to their families each and every day, so before we even begin the process of educating our young people, that's paramount to us," Taylor said.

Wicomico County Superintendent Donna Hanlin released a statement following the Florida shooting that noted she had met with Sheriff Mike Lewis about collaborating on additional active shooter drills.

"We will be working with the sheriff's office and our own school safety personnel to review all of our crisis and emergency plans and to continue practicing a variety of emergency response drills with staff and students," the statement reads.

There haven't been any immediate safety or security enhancements to Wicomico schools, but spokeswoman Tracy Sahler said officials are in talks about the next steps.

Although Maryland doesn't have any regulations for schools on how they should handle issues like visitor management and entry systems, Clarke said ensuring school security starts with access control.

He said some of the major recommendations from the Maryland Center for School Safety are that schools keep doors closed and locked while classes are in progress, and post signs directing visitors approaching the building on where to go and how to sign in.

Visitor management systems like the ones already used in many Shore schools are important not only for keeping out people who aren't allowed on school property, Clarke said, but also for maintaining a log of who is on campus.

"We need to have a good accounting of our visitors during the academic day," he said. "In case there is an emergency or crisis, not only do we have to account for students and staff but we have to account for visitors in our school buildings as well."

The Somerset school system wants parents and the community to know that safety measure and protocols are in place. The school system's list of security measures has been sent home with students and posted online.

Those measures include electromagnetic security locks, security cameras in critical areas, burglar alarms, visitor management systems in elementary schools that perform immediate sex offender checks, and established crisis management teams and plans for each school.

Parents are giving lots of feedbacks, Gaddis said during the meeting. They are asking about additional measures for schools such as a resource officer on every campus, metal detectors and bulletproof glass.

Some schools have also asked if it would be possible to construct a vestibule, he said, similar to what's already in Washington High School and Somerset Intermediate School. This provides a secure place for visitors who have been buzzed inside but prevents entry to the rest of the school while while they check in.

Many of these proposals have a "substantial cost" attached, Gaddis said, but officials are already in talks about what might be possible and will work to get estimates.

"We're up to date on the latest greatest, but at the same time, when something like this happens, it's always a good time to reflect and to look at what we're doing and our protocols, and that's what we've done," he said during the meeting.

Other Delmarva schools

In Accomack County, the schools employ similar measures to keep students safe. 

Superintendent W.C. "Chris" Holland said some of the schools have metal detectors, and the school system's website shows the schools' exterior doors are locked and under video surveillance. 

There are also surveillance cameras throughout other areas of the campuses, according to the website, and visitors have to be buzzed into the building and wear an ID badge.

For the past two years, Holland said, the district has had an active shooter drill for staff at the beginning of the year, which is conducted by the Accomack County Sheriff's Office.

The county has also dealt with rumors of threats against one of its schools after information started making the rounds Feb. 21 on Facebook and Twitter describing a potential threat.

Although he asked that any threats to school safety be reported to law enforcement and school officials, Holland saidsocial media can still play a beneficial role.

"It's only a small part of assessing a threat, but it can help if the information is accurate," he said.

In Delaware's Indian River School District, spokesman David Maull said when it comes to school safety, the focus is resistance and response.

Cameras on the schools' main doors allow a secretary to see and talk to visitors before they enter the building, he said, and staff have key cards they must use to enter and exit those doors.

The schools also have armed safety monitors, who are former law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies including the Delaware State Police, Secret Service and Philadelphia Police Department. 

"We make sure the security monitors check the doors at all times," Maull said. "People can't come in and walk into the building."

Those monitors are licensed Delaware constables, he said, and undergo regular training, which requires them to practice their shooting skills to maintain their certification.

When it comes to social media, Maull said it has been helpful in bringing potential threats to light — so far, all have been unfounded for Indian River schools — but can also hinder by inflating rumors.

The next steps

Following calls from President Donald Trump to arm "adept" school faculty and staff, debate has been raging across the country about whether teachers should carry guns.

Maryland legislation introduced in the General Assembly by a Baltimore County delegate that would allow a county board to authorize school employees with a state police-issued handgun permit to carry a handgun on school property is scheduled for a hearing March 6.

Legislation has also been introduced in the Senate to require public schools across the state to have an armed school resource office on campus during regular school hours or an armed state trooper if a school is unable to meet that requirement.

With many of the other school security improvements discussed across Maryland having a sizable price tag, Gov. Larry Hogan announced in a Wednesday news release that his administration is committing money toward enhancements such as metal detectors, security cameras and panic buttons.

He also announced a commitment of $50 million each year in new school safety grants, which can be put toward additional school resource officers, counselors and safety technology.

Hogan is submitting emergency legislation to establish the state's first school safety standards, with requirements for training and certification for resource officers and security staff, annual safety assessments and plans to address behavioral threats and emergency situations.

The Maryland Center for School Safety is also receiving an additional $5 million in funding as well, according to the release, to hire analysts and social media trackers as well as allocation staff in more regions of the state to assist schools in their safety assessments.

An executive order signed that same day also requires all state agencies to develop, review and update their internal plans, policies and procedures for active assailant events and collaborate with public and nongovernmental partners on an active assailant initiative.

“Classrooms should never be a place of fear for our children," Hogan said in the release. "No mom or dad should ever have to worry when they send their kids off to school whether their son or daughter is going to come home safely.”

Delmarva Now staff writers Carol Vaughn and Gray Hughes contributed to this report.