Following a school shooting in Florida that has sparked conversations among parents about safety in schools, local school district leaders highlighted some of the systems they have in place to protect students and staff.
Mt. Vernon
LobbyGuard, a visitor management system, requires visitors to scan their driver’s licenses before being allowed to leave the main office. LobbyGuard compares visitor information with the sex and violent offender registry and prints badges identifying visitors.
A school resource officer focuses his attention on the two schools away from the main campus: McCordsville Elementary and Mt. Comfort Elementary
Off-duty police officers are charged with patrolling the schools on the main campus: Mt. Vernon High School, Mt. Vernon Middle School and Fortville Elementary
Visitor access to the buildings is limited to one door; all other doors remain locked. To ensure those doors stay closed, school leaders increased perimeter sweeps in the days following the Parkland shooting.
Eight of the district’s administrators are certified by the Indiana Department of Education as school safety officers.
A school safety team meets regularly to discuss concerns and brainstorm improvements.
Greenfield-Central
In 2016, the district began utilizing LobbyGuard to compare visitor information with the sex and violent offender registry.
Visitor access is limited to one door.
Greenfield Police Department officers and Hancock County sheriff’s deputies are stationed at the high school.
Officers patrol the rest of the schools in the district.
A school safety team meets regularly to discuss concerns and brainstorm improvements.
Eastern Hancock
The district has hired school resource officers to be in the buildings during the school day.
LobbyGuard is used to manage the district’s visitors.
Access to the buildings is limited — even more so in recent days. Following the shooting, the district locked additional entry points during the schools busiest traffic times, decreasing the number of doors staff members have to watch during morning drop-off.
A school safety team meets regularly to discuss concerns and brainstorm improvements.
Southern Hancock
The district manages visitors using the same technology as the other corporations.
The school hires school resource officers, though the district declined to elaborate more.
Anti-bullying messages are included in the district’s curriculum at all age levels.
A safety team meets regularly with law enforcement.
