School security experts discuss student safety ideas at North Texas seminar
RICHARDSON, Texas - School safety and security were top of mind for dozens of school administrators and law enforcement personnel who attended a school safety seminar in Richardson Wednesday.
"As a matter of fact, myself and my police chief attending one of these sessions in the Houston area not long before our shooting went back and adjusted some of our plans," said retired Santa Fe ISD Superintendent Leigh Wall.
Approximately 300 people attended the annual Region 10 ESC’s Safety 1st Conference.
The group was made up of a combination of school administrators, law enforcement and first responders from around the area.
Dr. Wall was one of the panelists at the annual conference. She was the superintendent of Santa Fe ISD when a then 17-year-old gunman, a student at the high school, killed ten people in 2018.
"We responded according to our plan, but I guess that we weren't at all prepared for was the aftermath and recovery piece," she said.
The school safety seminar comes less than a week after police say 17-year-old Ja'kerian Rhodes-Ewing was somehow able to get a gun through metal detectors at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Southeast Dallas and shot another student in the leg inside of a classroom.
The Dallas ISD police chief was at the seminar but said he could not speak about the ongoing investigation.
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Craig Miller served as chief of police at Dallas ISD and is now retired. He says, in his experience, it's important that all leaders are on the same page.
"I think that's sometimes where the disconnect takes place. Law enforcement sees it a certain way, and administration may see that problem a different way," he said. "It's getting everyone lined up to understand each other's issues that will make us the most successful."
Miller said to take advantage of high-tech security equipment where budgets allow.
Another important topic was mental health.
Dr Wall said while the district had an active shooter plan, they really didn't have a plan for addressing all of the mental health issues that came up with student and staff after the shooting.