N.C. Doing its Part to Keep Schools Safe

RALEIGH, N.C. — School safety is a hot topic nationwide and states are doing their part in order to see that students continue to thrive in a secure environment. In North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory recently announced the creation of the N.C. Center for Safer Schools.

The new center will be schools’ primary point of contact on issues related to school safety in the state.

“My top priority for public safety in North Carolina is to ensure our children are safe, especially in our schools,” Gov. McCrory said during a press conference. “It is imperative that we prevent all forms of potential violence. The Center for Safer Schools will develop a comprehensive strategy of best practices throughout the state and country to protect our children, teachers, school administrators and our communities.”

The N.C. Center for Safer Schools will serve as a staple in the state and is fully supported and administered through the Division of Juvenile Justice. The center will work to inform schools, law enforcement, youth-serving agencies, juvenile justice officials, community leaders, policymakers, parents and students, about important school safety information.

The center will be accessible to anyone trying to access information or needing assistance in school safety related issues. The center’s staff will work with schools directly to help assess site safety issues and also work on-site with communities who need the support and services.

“We have a lot of parents who are dependent upon us to have peace in their hearts and their souls when they drop their kids off at schools,” McCrory said in a statement. “We have a role in government to ensure that the parents know that we feel responsible…to take every action necessary to protect our schools.”

The center will be housed in the state’s Department of Public Safety building, and Kieran Shanahan, secretary for the department said, “The number one objective is to be authentic and real in what we do so that we can make a meaningful difference in the schools.”

The center looks to guide schools in the right direction and make recommendations for safety and security policies implemented in schools. According to June Atkinson, superintendent of public instruction, center officials will evaluate the role of police officers serving in the schools and whether they should be armed. As many may recall, this was a heated topic on capital hill as well.

“I have not given them any restrictions on what they’ll recommend to make the schools safe,” said McCrory in a statement. He continued to say that the center’s leaders need to “make sure there are facts backing it up, and data backing it up and success stories backing it up.”

Running the new center as the executive director is Wake County special education teacher, Kym Martin.