Gone are the days educators only need to prepare lesson plans for students. School districts need comprehensive safety plans to keep students safe from both internal and external threats.The tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is renewing important conversations about school safety and security across the country. Ramone Davenport is the superintendent of Dohn Community High School, a charter school with ten locations across Greater Cincinnati.Every school building has metal detectors and armed security. “It doesn’t necessarily happen in the suburbs. It could happen in the city. It could happen anytime somebody feels that this is what they want to do,” Davenport said. “We have metal detectors in all the schools, we hire extra security in all the schools, so I think we’re doing everything we’re supposed to.”Davenport believes in the current climate, every school building should have armed security present during school hours. “When this stuff happens we want to have somebody right there,” he said. “Some of these districts, they ignore it and think that it can’t happen to them. It can happen to you and it can happen at the drop of a dime.”This school year, Davenport introduced a four-week gun safety course for students. The goal is to teach teens how to handle guns if they encounter them. It was started as a pilot program for about 50 students. Next year it will be required for all students. “Whether you find a gun or whether you go and purchase a gun, you need to know the do’s and don’t’s of how to properly operate that firearm, because that can lead to somebody’s death,” Davenport said. “We’re going to embed it in our curriculum… We want to make it just as important as your English, math, science and social studies classes. Why not? It’s happening. We’re not going to close a blind eye to it.”WLWT reached out to about a dozen school districts across Greater Cincinnati. Several responded in time for this story. The responses show stark differences in the prevalence of school resource officers in local school districts. Kenton County Schools has 17 schools and 17 school resource officers.Mason City Schools has 13 officers for its five schools. The district does not have traditional school resource officers but instead, a campus safety team comprised of full and part-time officers that cover all of the district’s campuses. Lakota Local Schools has 18 school resources officers for its 23 schools. A district spokeswoman said every campus has a school resource officer but some schools on the same campus share an SRO.Middletown City Schools has three school resource officers for its ten schools. The high school and middle school each have a school resource officer, and the remaining officer rotates through the other eight schools. Northwest Local Schools has seven school resource officers for its eleven schools. The middle and high schools each have a school resource officer. The elementary schools share SROs, according to a district spokeswoman.Cincinnati Public Schools has a school resource officer in most but not all of its high schools according to the Cincinnati police department. The district’s website says elementary schools in the district have “some presence” of officers. North College Hill School District did not have any school resource officers stationed in its four schools this school year. For the last several years, the middle and high schools have had a school resource officer. The superintendent of North College Hill Schools tells WLWT the change this school year was due to staffing challenges at the North College Hill police department.
Gone are the days educators only need to prepare lesson plans for students.
School districts need comprehensive safety plans to keep students safe from both internal and external threats.
The tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is renewing important conversations about school safety and security across the country.
Ramone Davenport is the superintendent of Dohn Community High School, a charter school with ten locations across Greater Cincinnati.
Every school building has metal detectors and armed security.
“It doesn’t necessarily happen in the suburbs. It could happen in the city. It could happen anytime somebody feels that this is what they want to do,” Davenport said. “We have metal detectors in all the schools, we hire extra security in all the schools, so I think we’re doing everything we’re supposed to.”
Davenport believes in the current climate, every school building should have armed security present during school hours.
“When this stuff happens we want to have somebody right there,” he said. “Some of these districts, they ignore it and think that it can’t happen to them. It can happen to you and it can happen at the drop of a dime.”
This school year, Davenport introduced a four-week gun safety course for students.
The goal is to teach teens how to handle guns if they encounter them. It was started as a pilot program for about 50 students.
Next year it will be required for all students.
“Whether you find a gun or whether you go and purchase a gun, you need to know the do’s and don’t’s of how to properly operate that firearm, because that can lead to somebody’s death,” Davenport said. “We’re going to embed it in our curriculum… We want to make it just as important as your English, math, science and social studies classes. Why not? It’s happening. We’re not going to close a blind eye to it.”
WLWT reached out to about a dozen school districts across Greater Cincinnati. Several responded in time for this story.
The responses show stark differences in the prevalence of school resource officers in local school districts.
Kenton County Schools has 17 schools and 17 school resource officers.
Mason City Schools has 13 officers for its five schools. The district does not have traditional school resource officers but instead, a campus safety team comprised of full and part-time officers that cover all of the district’s campuses.
Lakota Local Schools has 18 school resources officers for its 23 schools.
A district spokeswoman said every campus has a school resource officer but some schools on the same campus share an SRO.
Middletown City Schools has three school resource officers for its ten schools. The high school and middle school each have a school resource officer, and the remaining officer rotates through the other eight schools.
Northwest Local Schools has seven school resource officers for its eleven schools. The middle and high schools each have a school resource officer.
The elementary schools share SROs, according to a district spokeswoman.
Cincinnati Public Schools has a school resource officer in most but not all of its high schools according to the Cincinnati police department.
The district’s website says elementary schools in the district have “some presence” of officers.
North College Hill School District did not have any school resource officers stationed in its four schools this school year.
For the last several years, the middle and high schools have had a school resource officer.
The superintendent of North College Hill Schools tells WLWT the change this school year was due to staffing challenges at the North College Hill police department.
