Colquitt County High School.

MOULTRIE, Ga. – In the years since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, safety and security have never been far from the minds of school system leaders. This week’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, presents another opportunity to re-assess protocols.

“Our school district like every school district has a strong emphasis on school safety and security,” Colquitt County School Superintendent Ben Wiggins said in an interview on Thursday.

The system relies on a strong relationship with both the Colquitt County Sheriff’s office and the Moultrie Police Department. 

“We had lock down drills at every one of our campuses, and at each drill Sheriff Rod Howell and Chief of Police Sean Ladson were present with their personnel,” Wiggins said. 

He said the purpose of law enforcement being present during the drills is so they can watch and offer good solid critical feedback after every drill. This ensures that the safety practices and drills are effective since each campus has a different layout and design.

Wiggins said that both the CCSO and the MPD help them each step of the way on their school safety plan.

“We have a crisis emergency plan for every campus,” Wiggins said. “Both the CCSO and the MPD have vetted those plans.” 

The CCSO and the MPD have reviewed the plans from previous years and gave suggestions on areas where they needed to adjust, he said. 

Wiggins said all campuses have school resource officers present everyday. The officers are constantly offering feedback and information relating to their safety plans. 

There are 10 school resource officers during the school year, according to the school system’s Chief Communications Officer Angela Hobby. During the summer there is one present at every site that has student activities going on.

For Saturday’s graduation, Wiggins said there will be security present on all grounds of Mack Tharpe Stadium. Officers from the MPD will be outside the stadium, and deputies from CCSO will be inside.

“They are on duty and on alert at all times,” Wiggins said. 

Hobby said that there will be a letter sent home to parents and employees regarding school safety. 

“The letter acknowledges that the Colquitt County School District is aware of what happened in Texas, and that we do have summer school and school-related camps going on,” Hobby said in an interview on Thursday.

“We want to make sure they know that we are aware and that we are looking at our safety protocols,” she said.

Current safety protocols will remain in place throughout the summer, but  the schools will have meetings to review the protocols and prepare for the next school year. 

“While no planning can guarantee that a tragedy such as this will not occur, we are doing everything we can to create a safe environment for all students and employees,” Wiggins said in the letter.

The letter reminds parents of two protocols that were established this year. The schools started an Anonymous Alerts system, an online mobile or desktop app, that allows anyone from the community to share information about a concern. It can be accessed from the school district’s website, colquitt.k12.ga.us; it’s the first item under the Families tab. 

“We encourage anybody in the community, whether they are parents, students or just someone in the community, to use the Anonymous Alert system,” Hobby said. 

Based on what is reported, the alert is shared to the appropriate department. For example, if there is an alert submitted regarding self-harm or bullying, the alert will be transferred to the school counselors. Law enforcement can also receive alerts. 

“Using the system can be one of the most impactful ways to get information both to the school and legal authorities,” Wiggins said. 

The system is anonymous but users can include their names in the reports if they want. There’s no way of tracking where the report was made or who it was submitted by, the school officials said. 

“Even though it’s summer break, we still want people to report their concerns,” Hobby said. 

Users can notify the school of threats shared on social media by submitting photos in their alerts. Users can give as much information as they are willing to share.

“There is a way for two-way communication on the app for real time feedback,” Wiggins said.

The schools also have a new camera system, recently approved by the Board of Education.

“It’s used for instruction,” Hobby said, “but the local authorities have access to it should there be an incident where we have to have an emergency response.”

The cameras are in all classrooms, in the hallways and across all school campuses. 

To access the Anonymous Alert system, please refer to this link.