Dear DCSD Family:
Yesterday the nation watched as a tragic and horrific mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Our hearts are breaking for the families involved and the Uvalde community, and we mourn with them.
When events like these occur, they often lead to fear and concern about our own schools and the safety of our staff and students. The Darlington County School District is committed to creating safe spaces for staff and students. Over the past few years, we have increased safety and security measures at all of our campuses and buildings with physical installations and technology advances. We have outstanding working and training relationships with our local law enforcement agencies, who provide an active-duty officer in the form of a School Resource Officer at all of our campuses. We hired an active-duty officer to serve exclusively as the district’s Chief Security Coordinator. This officer constantly assesses and audits safety and security measures at our campuses to find ways to strengthen those plans. We regularly conduct small- and large-scale safety drills in conjunction with all of our local emergency responders to ensure that our students and staff know what to do in various situations. These drills allow us to strengthen weaknesses and improve our ability to respond in a crisis. We are constantly seeking ways to improve safety at our schools.
However, we always ask that our community members and our school families continue to help us keep watch. School shooters typically show signs of their intentions well in advance before taking action. If you see something, please say something. Nothing is too unimportant when it comes to keeping our campuses safe. We must work together to keep our families safe in these turbulent times.
This is another unfortunate reminder that we cannot take anything for granted, whether that is being vigilant and proactive with our safety measures, or counting our blessings for our families and communities in the Darlington County School District.
This is our world today. We have to work together to make it a better place, a safer place for our children.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tim Newman, Superintendent
Darlington County School District