SDPC issues School Safety Message

Administrators with the School District of Pickens County (SDPC) recently shared the following message with parents. It contains information pertaining to many of the questions the SDPC has received regarding safety in schools. The SDPC board and administration feel strongly that one of the strongest security measures a school can have is the presence of a trained, armed law enforcement officer. With that belief in mind, every one of the high schools and middle schools has a full-time School Resource Officer. Additionally, last year the SDPC school board worked with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office to add full-time officers to most remote elementary schools, and the SDPC has reviewed agreements with other local police departments to increase police presence at all of the elementary schools. It is also the SDPC’s regular practice to always operate during school hours in “modified lockdown,” which means that all external doors remain locked, and that the doors of all occupied classrooms remain closed and locked when class is in session. Over the past decade, the SDPC has invested millions of dollars in secure entryways, security cameras, and other features to make it more difficult for an intruder to enter schools. SDPC teachers and administrators also undergo training specifically for how to respond to an active shooter situation. In addition, SDPC school safety measures are constantly under review, and the SDPC is always considering ways to update and improve the ways in which it strives to keep students safe. The SDPC school board and administration are always open to suggestions and understand that opinions on school safety can be as diverse as they are passionate. As the SDPC works to keep schools secure, there are two important ways that parents can help. First, remind students to never open a school’s external door for someone they do not know or trust. Second, encourage your children to speak up to school staff or law enforcement if they are worried by behavior they see on social media. The SDPC needs your help in educating students about the fact that even jokes about school violence on social media can have serious consequences, and that the warning signs of violence are often found in the online histories of school shooters.