Joplin Schools Safety Task Force
By: Jessica Schaer
Updated: January 16, 2013
JOPLIN, MO.---
"I only have one child and when I drop her off at school I expect her to be safe," says Amanda Kanakis, Parent.
"I only have one child and when I drop her off at school I expect her to be safe," says Amanda Kanakis, Parent.
Parents and Joplin school administrators say school violence is a tough subject to talk about, but it must be a priority.
"Our main goal is to really make our schools as safe as they can be in Joplin," says Jason Cravens, Joplin School District.
Despite recent tragedies like the Sandy Hook shooting, Cornell University research claims students are safer at school than anywhere else.
"Columbine was kind of an evolution in school security, so what have we been doing since then?", asks Cravens.
Safety measures already in place for Joplin include 5 school resource officers, email hotlines, and crisis drills 4 times a year.
"Make sure we're doing everything we can to keep kids safe," says Cravens.
With that in mind, a safety review task force made up of parents, teachers, administrators, and law enforcement was put together. Ideas in the meeting included adding "duress buttons" that immediately notify police, ways to securely lock exterior doors, and even proper substitute teacher safety training.
"Sub communication. A lot of the subs are not aware of the policies for the lock down drills or the lockout drills," says Cravens.
Both school leaders and parents feel keeping lines of communication open is important for this tough issue.
"I feel really good leaving this meeting about the safety of my child in Joplin Schools," says Kanakis.
The task force hopes to continue these types of meeting in the future. As of right now, there are no further meetings scheduled. School board members will instead take a look at all the comments and suggestions from this evening and discuss those at a meeting next Tuesday.
