Gov. Markell says statewide efforts to improve school safety have reached a key milestone.
In his weekly message, Markell says the new school year marks the first time all public schools in Delaware have comprehensive, state of the art safety plans in place for use in case of emergency situations, such as armed intruders or natural disasters.
The plans are coordinated with first responders and tailored to each school’s lay-out.
Under a law signed by Markell in 2012, all schools were required to have the plans ready within five years. He says having them done in three years is an indication of the strong level of commitment to this issue.
“We all want to provide a safe and secure learning environment for our children. And we have a sacred responsibility to be able to respond when anything threatens it," said Markell. "Advances made by our schools over the past few years mean they are better prepared than ever to deal with a wide range of emergencies.”
Markell adds the state is committed to continually evaluating plans and looking for ways to improve them.
Full text of Gov. Markell's weekly message:
Our children and educators spend more than a third of their time in schools – time that is critical to ensuring our young people have the best chance to reach their potential. Unfortunately, we have also seen that our schools face a variety of threats – from natural disasters to violence. We all want to provide a safe and secure learning environment for our children and we have a sacred responsibility to be ready to respond when anything threatens it.
Advances made by our schools over the past few years mean they are better prepared than ever before to deal with a wide range of emergencies. The Omnibus School Safety Act I signed in 2012 required state-of-the-art school safety plans for every Delaware public school within 5 years. It was a laudable goal, but I felt, and the General Assembly agreed, that we could do better. Three years later, we are celebrating that all of our public schools are operating under a state-of-the-art school safety plan to being this school year. That means a comprehensive strategy that has been coordinated with our first responders and tailored to the specific layout of each school.
As we recognize this achievement, we also know that it cannot signal an end to our efforts. We must always strive to evaluate the systems we have in place and pursue improvements. That’s happening at places like Richey Elementary, where this summer, district and school leaders pursued further safety enhancements, like creating a door entryway that funnels visitors into the office rather than directly into the school.
By ensuring our schools are as prepared as possible for any circumstance, we will allow our school staff, teachers and students to remain focused on learning and educating. And that will keep Delaware moving forward.