From prevention to response, Hawkins leaders prepare for school attacks

See Something, Say Something Programing

Times News – by Jeff Bobo

CHURCH HILL — The fact that last year’s alleged Volunteer High School massacre plot was foiled by a mental health professional hasn’t been lost on leaders in the Hawkins County School System.

This past year the Hawkins County Board of Education implemented a new mental health counseling program funded through the federal Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant.  

Director of Schools Steve Starnes said the program partners the school system with Frontier Health, adding a new mental health counselor in each of the high schools and middle schools.

Starnes said he believes on-campus mental heath services offer a number of benefits, not the least of which is hopefully identifying potential threats of violence.

“Our school counselors do a really good job, but the Frontier Health counselor can provide additional services,” Starnes told the Times-News Friday. “We can do screenings and make referrals to that counselor. That counselor then meets with the students, and from there they would make different options available to the parents.”

The S3 grant also funded a new program in Hawkins County high schools called “Move to Stand” in which student leaders are trained to take a stand against bullying.

Starnes said he believes the first line of defense in the prevention of school violence is the students themselves.

“If a student hears of anything like this, please notify someone,” Starnes said. “Notify your parents, notify a school official, notify a member of law enforcement — so we can assess any and all threats and take quick action as we were able to do this time.”

Although prevention is a key element of the overall plan, there has also been lengthy preparation to address the worst-case scenarios.

For years the school system, law enforcement and rescue personnel having been working together to formulate plans to address school attacks and/or mass casualty incidents (MCIs).

Gary Murrell, director of the Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency, said he has plans in place for every school in the county addressing every aspect of an MCI at that specific school.

Those plans are continuously changing and evolving, which Murrell says is a good thing because it prevents agencies from becoming complacent or putting MCI preparedness on the back burner.

“The plans are updated every year, and we’re all involved in it at every level — from the schools to the ambulances, dispatchers, fire departments and law enforcement,” Murrell said. “It’s not foolproof, but if you don’t have a plan you’re not going to be able to do anything. If you’ve got a plan, everybody knows their job.”

Although preparedness for these types of events is always on the minds of school, police and rescue officials, events like the alleged attack plot at Volunteer High School, as well as the recent school shootings in other parts of the country, always serve to heighten awareness.

It wasn’t until the Sandy Hook school massacre in December of 2012 that Hawkins County leaders began talking about putting school resource officers (SROs) in every school in the system.

Murrell said Friday’s announcement about the alleged thwarted Volunteer High School attack plot will undoubtedly serve as another wake-up call.

“People will say things like this can’t happen in our county, but they’re wrong,” Murrell said. “It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when will it happen. Nobody thinks it can happen to them until it does. I would hope that people understand anything is possible no matter where you live. You’ve got to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

With five schools in its corporate boundaries, the Church Hill Police Department makes response to school attacks a top priority.

CHPD Chief Mark Johnson said his department has been actively training in schools for years, and last year the department conducted a simulated school shooting exercise at Church Hill Intermediate School.

Most of the schools in Church Hill have a full-time SRO provided by the sheriff’s office.

In the event of an emergency Johnson said his officers will be on the scene quickly, and his officers have been training for school incidents jointly with the sheriff’s office and independently.

“Every school shooting has been different, so you can’t tailor your training to one set of circumstances or one particular tactic,” Johnson said. “We’ve been mainly going over the mental aspects. It’s one thing to be able to shoot inside a building and shoot at moving targets. It’s another thing when you train yourself mentally to step over kids, staff, maybe even small kids who need your help.”

Johnson added, “Our plan is we’re going to go in fast, we’re going to go in hard, and we’re going to get the shooter first. We’re not going to wait, we’re not going to group, we’re not going to plan. We’re going in and try to find the shooter or shooters.”

Murrell has had a countywide MCI drill on the drawing board for more than a year, but he hasn’t had luck finding a date when all the agencies involved can come together.

In light of the thwarted alleged attack plot on Volunteer High School, Murrell said he anticipates that drill will receive higher priority and will take place sometime within the next year.

 

Read more: From prevention to response, Hawkins leaders prepare for school attacks | Kingsport Times-News http://www.timesnews.net/article/9078111/from-prevention-to-response-hawkins-leaders-prepare-for-school-attacks#ixzz34f2qdiiU
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