Opinion: Greenville schools working to keep students safe and add resource officers

Parents want to send their children to school each day knowing they are safe and focused on learning. The safety of our students and staff is the top priority for the Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees and administration, and it remains so now more than ever. Putting that priority into action requires a two-pronged approach focused on proactive prevention measures and extensive emergency response planning.

One of the key components to both is close collaboration with law enforcement (LE). GCS has worked alongside LE for decades, and the joint effort has evolved as the needs and challenges have changed.

In the late 1990s, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and GCS formed the School Enforcement Unit. It’s the only school enforcement unit in the state and includes School Resource Officers (SROs), officers on roaming patrols, investigators, Weapons Detection System technicians, security specialists, and drug dogs, among others.

We also partner with the six municipal police departments to provide SROs and zone patrol officers to schools located within the city limits of Fountain Inn, Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Travelers Rest. In total, more than 75 commissioned LE officers work across the district daily, making us the third largest law enforcement presence in Greenville County.

Full-time SROs are assigned to every GCS middle and high school, as well as four elementary schools. The remaining elementary schools and other locations have roaming security patrols by law enforcement officers, who visit their schools multiple times every day, conduct exterior and interior security checks, and form relationships with students and staff.

It is the shared goal of GCS and LE to have a full-time SRO in every elementary school, which will require at least 35 additional LE officers to be hired and trained. While additional funding is available, the greatest hurdle is finding enough qualified people to work effectively in a school. We and our LE partners continue to work toward this goal, but it will take years to fully realize it.

We don’t disclose every detail about security measures, which would compromise their effectiveness. However, we can share that they include secure capture areas at school entrances, advanced camera systems, an access control system requiring authorized badges to enter the building, and locked exterior doors.

LE officers conducting unannounced security breach tests on schools report back to the district for continuous improvement. GCS utilizes an online system, Gaggle, which monitors content, detects potential threats, and activates responses 24/7, 365 days a year.

We also have added school counselors, ensuring our ratios are better than the national averages. Mental health counselors serve every school through a partnership with Greater Greenville Mental Health.

This year, we implemented a new weapons detection system. After evaluating multiple options, GCS chose the EVOLV system for two main reasons. Its technology is more advanced than traditional metal detectors, and it allows multiple students to pass through at a normal pace. It’s fully portable and will travel to schools and athletic events on an unpredictable rotation. We are evaluating the system to determine if additional units will be utilized in the future.

The single most effective preventative tool regarding school safety and security is the “See Something, Say Something” protocol. It is imperative that if students, parents, or staff see or hear something that is concerning, they say something to a teacher, administrator, or SRO, or report it to a tip line. Every school emphasizes See Something, Say Something, and the district provides anonymous channels to report threats by calling, texting, or using an icon on student Chromebooks and at www.greenville.k12.sc.us.

We have a responsibility to ensure we are prepared if a threat or violent act occurs. GCS has worked with LE to develop Emergency Response Plans for a wide range of possible scenarios, including fire, bomb threats, severe storms, and active shooters. 

These are built in partnership with LE using the framework of the National Incident Management System. When there is an incident, locally or nationally, we review those plans to identify possible improvements.

GCS has co-hosted active shooter and other trainings with LE for almost 15 years. Additionally, our schools practice drills throughout the year, both announced and unannounced.

These prevention and response measures are in place because students can better focus on their academic and personal growth when they have a safe learning environment surrounding them.

School is still statistically the safest place for a child to be, and working alongside LE, parents and the community, we will do everything we can to keep it that way.

Dr. Burke Royster is superintendent of the School District of Greenville County.