Dear Colonial Families,
In the wake of yet another school-based tragedy, I want to take this opportunity to answer a question every adult in our district must have; What is Colonial doing to protect our students and staff? To give you some insight into our district’s plans to enhance school safety, we have several things happening:
- We are continuing to do announced and unannounced active shooter and other emergency drills in every school to make certain everyone knows what to do without thinking. It is response time during a crisis that saves lives.
- We are exploring how to increase our district security by hiring constables to serve in all of our secondary schools and some of our other larger buildings. Constables are retired police officers who have many of the same rights as the police officers including the ability to be armed while patrolling our schools. Constables would be in addition to State Police School Resource Officers that we currently have. We have already hired one constable and are testing the program in order to develop a plan for additional constables in the near future and determine their overall costs.
- We are installing cameras in several of our buildings and around the perimeter of some schools. We currently contract with a company to help monitor cameras and provide us video footage as needed to help investigate any suspicious activities.
- We are reviewing ways to use existing funds to continue the process of creating secured entrances at all schools. You may remember that funding these entrances was part of the first referendum held in 2017. Because that vote was not successful, we must use existing resources for these projects and it will take several years to complete this work at all of our schools.
Additionally, we are reminding our principals to always remain vigilant. We will also be asking our constable to prepare a presentation for all of our schools regarding safety and best practices. We take the safety and security of our Colonial family as a priority and will continue to work to provide a safe environment for all of our schools. Students, teachers, and staff will be reminded that if they see something, they must say something; sadly, this is the new normal for all schools across the country.
Please know that every effort will be made to keep parents and guardians informed. I ask that you too do your part. Monitor student use of social media, secure registered weapons at home and report suspicious or unusual behavior even if your child is involved. Remember, apathy is our worst enemy in these troubled times.
Feel free to leave questions or concerns on the district’s Facebook page or contact the district office at (302) 323-2700. Thank you in advance for your understanding as we work together to keep Colonial Nation safe!
D. Dusty Blakey, Ed.D.
Superintendent