By Jake Fogal
BLOOMINGTON – Last week, school leaders and resource officers gathered for a two day conference at Normal Community West High School on how mass school violence incidents can be averted.
Data was presented by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, with the intention to identify, analyze and act on potential threats towards schools in central Illinois.
District 87 Superintendent Dr. David Mouser says there was many takeaways and that school administrators came together afterwards to discuss the districts safety and security plans.
He chatted on WJBC’s Afternoon Show with Blake Haas.
“What’s most important is the messaging that we provide to students and families which is that if you see something, say something,” Mouser said.
“A lot of the signs and warnings that you may see are really happening through social media, or through conversations that kids have with one another or things they over hear. From the schools perspective, there’s various things that we are putting into place and that have been in place for a long time.”
Dr. Mouser says the District is enhancing protocols, upgrading security cameras and are implementing a new Raptor System.
“Everybody that comes into any of our buildings to volunteer or be in a classroom, parents included, have to be able to show ID. It’s then quickly scanned through an offender list for us to be able to check,” Mauser said.
According to our news partner 25 News, educators want to make sure they aren’t just stopping threats, but helping students who are in a violent or dangerous mindset. What they want to avoid is punishing students for dangerous behavior.
Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].
