Homewood City Schools is implementing stricter safety guidelines to ensure a safe environment for all faculty and students.
At the end of last year Ganae Gaines, Homewood High School’s assistant principal in charge of school security, added directional signs throughout the school to make it easier for visitors and law enforcement to navigate the school.
She says that the middle and at least one of the elementary schools are adding these directional signs to their buildings.
One of the high school’s student resource officers, Marvin Neal, emphasized the importance of consistency when trying to keep 1,500 people safe. Neal wants to make sure every teacher and student is being diligent about the added safety precautions.
Neal says this year he wants to be visible. He will be checking the school and the perimeter throughout the day. One of his goals is to get to know students and be able to tell when someone is having an off day.
He stresses the importance of maintaining safety within the school. “Our atmosphere needs to be that of love, peace, joy, tranquility and unity,” Neal said.
Homewood Police Officers took tours of the high school over the summer to improve their familiarity with its layout in case anything were to ever happen.
During the summer, Homewood officers went through active shooter training. Officers from within the community came together to train for specific situations within our school.
Teachers also went through safety training over the summer. Teachers discuss everything between medical emergencies, threats, and hazards in the building.
All teachers and administrators throughout the building now wear a Homewood City School name tag. These name tags can help students distinguish between someone who works at the school and someone who shouldn’t be in the school.
Hall passes are being heavily enforced this year as they add purpose and intention to going somewhere. Teachers must be able to keep up with their students at all times. Keeping students contained is a necessary precaution.
During class changes, administrators clear the hallways and get students to class promptly. This makes it easier for law enforcement or anyone who would be here to help to get through if needed.
Along with locking the perimeter, each classroom is keeping its doors locked at all times. Administrators are going around the school ensuring every classroom and outside door is locked.
Posters are hanging in all places that show protocol with each emergency call. If an emergency announcement were to come over the intercom, the signs would tell you exactly what to do and where to go.
A safety team comprised of teachers is set in place to discuss procedures if an event were to occur. This team discusses specific logistics and creates specific plans for each of the emergency plans.
The threat assessment team is new this year. “If a student were to make any type of threat regarding our building, the threat assent team would come together and figure out how to move forward,” Gaines says.
These safety measures are an important part of Homewood High School’s mission to keep students safe.
