Since the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, parents of school-age students are questioning whether their schools are safe. Questions have been brought forth regarding school safety after it allegedly took law enforcement a long period of time to respond to the incident.
KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland tells KSRM:
“We do have a number of different procedures and processes in place for the KPBSD school district. We have, in the event of a violent intruder, we do have the ALICE protocol that we use. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. This is something that came about that really, the old guidance of sheltering in place at all times is not what we should do. We need to modify what we are doing as things happen. The protocol, we practice it every year, twice a year. We do coordinate with our local law enforcement on this, but it’s something we have to do. We have to do with our students and our staff. We think about these scenarios and how do we respond?”
The district has a behavior threat process relating to potential threats in addition to working to secure school entrances, which he adds is something they will review this summer. That includes a keycard entry system and a buzz-in system for physical access with six schools getting that installed, along with developing a timeline for other buildings.
Regarding monitoring social media, Holland says:
“As a District, we have filters that really limit what kids can do on our system and what people can access on our system. Within that, we can pull that up for things to be flagged, but I think, as we all know now, people use data, they’re using things on their own system. That part is more difficult and that’s where it comes back to people doing the right thing. Like, ‘Hey, I saw this.’ I think that process and people coming forward to share that and do that is helpful.”
In addition to ensuring that schools within the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District are safe, Superintendent Holland calls upon parents to teach their children proper practices for responsible social media use. He also praises the relationships staff develop with the students and families and being able to tell when something isn’t right and being able to properly address it.
Holland adds:
“You know, I think, as far as how we train, how we prepare, the processes we put in place, they are as strong as any other district I’ve heard of.”
He states that school being a safe place is a priority of the KPBSD.
