GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — As we get closer and closer to the start of the school year many triad districts are amping up school safety.
Guilford County Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and the Alamance-Burlington School System all are doing more to make sure students are safe this school year.
Let's start with what's new with Guilford County Schools.
Starting Monday, touchless body scanners are starting to get installed in the rest of the high schools in Guilford county.
The installation started in high schools in High Point this morning.
All high schools in the county should be equipped with a scanner before open house.
Guilford County Schools also mentioned that all security cameras would be getting upgraded and more installed where needed.
This is similar to what Alamance-Burlington Schools are doing.
ABSS mentioned Monday they are upgrading campuses with cameras, secure doors, and windows.
"We’ve installed additional cameras safety vestibules and most of those are being done over the summer," Les Atkins with Alamance Burlington Schools said.
ABSS also announced they will spend $2.7 million to hire full-time school resource officers, 35 total, that will now be at all schools.
This, the school system says, is to help students feel safe.
"These officers are all highly trained officers but one of the things I think it’s so important they will be doing every day...is building relationships with students and their families and the community as a whole," Atkins said.
The SROs will be answering to the individual police chiefs or sheriff's office based on where they are in the district.
Vestibules are also being installed at every school in Alamance County.
In Winston-Salem, schools will be using the standard response protocol this year to focus on communication and messaging.
The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) provides consistent, clear, shared language and actions among all students, staff, and first responders for all hazards. It is action-based and allows organizations, first responders, students, and parents to share a specific vocabulary for quick and coordinated action.
All of this is in effort to keep kids and staff members safe when they go to school.
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