The recent school shooting in Littleton, Colorado, has left us all shocked, frightened, and bewildered as we sat before the TV and read the newspapers and witnessed the horrible massacre of students, a teacher, and the suspected shooters themselves. It is indeed a senseless tragedy.

Parents of students in our schools have contacted many of us wanting to know what measures we take as a system, first to prevent such an occurrence, and then what is planned should preventative measures fail.

This issue of a possible crisis situation taking place on a school campus is not a new one for Coweta County educators. When this kind of tragedy began occurring years ago, we started taking immediate steps to first prevent and then properly react to such incidents; and when school violence occurs in any part of the country, we study the situation to learn from it and possibly adjust and improve our efforts.

The follow are specific examples of what we do in our schools to prevent deadly situations from happening.

·We conduct system and school safety surveys which identify possible trouble areas.

·An on-going safety committee studies our schools for various kinds of potential trouble and makes recommendations for improvement.

·A law-enforcement trained Student Resource Officer is assigned full-time to each high school and part-time to each middle school. This person is a regular law enforcement, badge-wearing individual specially trained in student concerns.

·Student Resource Officers provide training to school faculties regarding student violence, gang-related membership and activity, and spotting weapons at school.

·School Resource Officers assist in providing training to spot students who match the profiles of those students in school violence cases.

·School administrators stay in constant and immediate contact with each other via hand-held radios.

·Some schools use surveillance cameras in hallways and high traffic areas.

·Some schools use hand-held metal detectors when appropriate.

·School buses use radio contact and surveillance cameras.

·All school visitors are required to sign in at the principal's office and wear a visitor's badge while on campus.

·Students and faculty in high schools are required to register vehicles with the school's Student Resource Officer.

·All new construction includes a panic button in each classroom which provides immediate communication with the office.

·The Coweta Juvenile Court provides schools with lists of identified student felons.

·Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution programs are used in schools to help students learn and use a nonviolent means for solving problems in relationships.

·Troubled students are assigned adult mentors who assist with handling disappointment and other life-troubling concerns.

·Character education addresses nonviolent problem solving issues.

·Administrators and teachers use a "zone supervision" approach in order to supervise students in high-traffic, non-structured times such as class changes, breaks, lunch, arrival, and dismissal.

·Schools are taking steps to prohibit book bags and clothing which could conceal weapons.

·All schools have established various specific drills for fires, tornadoes, bomb threats, and intruders. These drills are practiced regularly.

·All schools have predetermined Emergency Preparedness Plans which address procedure for handling emergencies from weather problems to hostage situations.

·School staff members are provided with CPR and first-aid training for emergency situations.

·First-aid kits are maintained and available.

·School offices maintain "Emergency Consent" records on all students for the purpose of notifying parents and guardians and other identified, responsible adults when student emergencies occur.

·An Emergency packet is prepared which contains information such as facility diagrams, faculty identification lists, and student rosters.

As good as any preventive measures may be, no system is perfect; therefore, steps must be clearly outlined, published within the organization, and followed should such an emergency occur. What follows are the steps that are to be followed in a life- threatening situation.

·Schools should always know who is in charge. When the principal is away, a specific person is identified to make decisions.

·When an emergency is identified, the most appropriate procedure is determined: evacuation for fire or bomb threat, etc; hallway drill for tornado; lockdown for potential intruder.

·911 is called.

·When law enforcement and/or emergency personnel arrive, they are in charge of procedures. School personnel supervise and care for students.

·The Emergency packet is given to emergency personnel.

·Student emergency consent files are kept with school personnel so that family contacts can be made away from campus if necessary.

·Faculty members trained in CPR and first aid are put on alert.

·First-aid kits are available.

As prepared as we try to be both in prevention and in actual intervention, we need the constant help and understanding of the public, especially parents, as we do our best to protect our students at all times.

I encourage parents to be supportive of these efforts to protect students even when the methods seem intrusive. When you visit the school, come to the office immediately and sign in and put on a visitor's badge. Be supportive and understanding when schools hold drug and weapon searches, and encourage your students to follow the directions of school personnel in potential life threatening situations. We cannot put our heads in the sand and say that such a tragedy would never happen here; rather, we must work together at school and at home in order to prevent it.

In addition, know your children. Be aware of the TV shows they watch, the music they listen to, their hobbies and their friends.

Guns and bombs are not distributed by school personnel. In every national tragedy, these deadly items have come from homes and other out-of-school sources. Know what your children are doing at home and bringing to school.

Along those same lines, please encourage your students to report any knowledge they may have concerning any type of dangerous activity at school. We must convince students that this kind of reporting is not "tattling" in the old sense of the word, but that it is necessary and responsible behavior.

Finally, become a mentor first to your own child, and if you have additional time and concern, become a mentor to a student who needs your compassion and support. In every instance of school killings, the suspects have been profiled as loners, outcasts, and students without much self-esteem and hope.