Forum covers student safety

Will there be guns in our classrooms?

What kind of training is involved?

How can students help?

Those are a few of the questions students asked Wednesday during a school safety forum at Jay County High School.

The event at 10 a.m. Wednesday coincided with a national walkout that saw tens of thousands of students leave their classrooms in a variety of protests and demonstrations on the one-month anniversary of the shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. (South Adams held a school convention similar to the event at JCHS.)

Jay County’s students, with the exception of those on stage in the auditorium as part of the forum panel, stayed in their classrooms. JCHS social studies teacher Tim Millspaugh served as the moderator for the discussion that included Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley, JCHS principal Chad Dodd, Jay County Sheriff Dwane Ford, Youth Service Bureau therapist Kim Baer, senior Chloe Trissel, junior Kaitlyn Dow, sophomore Devin Harris and freshman Griffin Mann. The forum was broadcast live throughout the school, with students able to ask questions via the internet in real time.

One of those questions was regarding the possibility of having armed teachers in classrooms.

Gulley responded that he has no such plans, but reiterated that his biggest concern is response time.

“What we know about those threats … is that the active shooting incidences are almost always initiated and ended before police can get there,” he said. “In all these cases, the active shooter will typically not stop his attack until he runs out of victims. We also have learned … that when an active shooting is confronted, that’s when the killing stops.”

As a result, Gulley last week recommended a combination of options to provide armed security at each school in the corporation. Those would include:

•A full-time school resource officer in charge of coordinating security throughout the corporation.

•Utilizing retired police and other qualified individuals as security personnel.

•Providing “trained volunteer staff access to school-owned firearms secured in biometric safes.”

Those and other steps regarding mental health and building security are part of Gulley’s nine-point plan, which is available on the Jay Schools website (jayschoolcorp.org). It will also be on the agenda for the school board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

Trissel asked a follow-up question about training, noting that a sheriff’s deputy who was outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas at the time of the Feb. 14 shooting did not enter the building in an effort to stop the shooter.

Gulley and Ford both said training and police procedures are always evolving and that the first law enforcement officer on scene is supposed to confront an active shooter. However, they and Baer also noted that, regardless of training, there’s no way to be sure how someone is going to react in the heat of the moment.

In addition to the shooting last month in Florida, the forum came on the heels of a threat to Jay County High School issued last week on social media that led to an increased police presence. A student later came forward with information that led to a confession by two other students, who are now facing expulsion. They said the threat was intended as a “joke.”

Dodd told students to continue to come forward when they hear or see something that is cause for concern. (In addition to speaking with an administrator, the Jay Schools website offers an online form to report issues at bit.ly/JSCreportthreat.)

Doing so, he said, allows administrators to work with local law enforcement to investigate potentially problematic situations.

“Unfortunately, we can’t control what individuals do,” he said. “What we have control of is how we react. I can’t tell you how proud I am of our kids for making us aware when they come across things like that.

“I would continue to encourage our kids to be diligent as they’re looking through social media, as they’re having conversations with their friends.”

Gulley offered similar encouragement for students to speak up when they are concerned about something, but was also critical about some of what has gone on in the community via social media.

“The drama that we see on some Facebook posts from adults who ought to know better is not helping,” he said. “And we need to educate our parents, our community and kids on how to responsibly see something, say something and then have a good threat assessment protocol to do something.”

Dow asked about what role students can play in the successful implementation of Gulley’s nine-point plan for safety in the schools.

Gulley suggested that students’ greatest contributions can be made by displaying good character, appreciating the value of life and reaching out to those in need. He also asked students to stay informed and to be careful about what they post online.

Other questions involved the following topics: preparation for active shooters, including the need for more drills; whether metal detectors would be considered; the balance between school safety and student freedom; plans for increased access to mental health services; who is involved in investigating school threats; and whether deterrents other than guns might be made available in classrooms.

The forum — it can be viewed in its entirety at bit.ly/JCHSsafetyforum — was born when Harris approached Dodd about taking part in the nationwide walkout.

Dodd expressed concerns about student safety during such an event, leading to a collaboration that resulted in Wednesday’s town-hall style meeting.

Harris said he felt it was productive because though much of the information discussed had already been made public, it may not have reached local students.

“A lot of the steps that are taken aren’t really student knowledge,” said Harris. “The fact that we talked about all of this, it’s all a new experience.

“I’m really proud of everything we’ve done. This could be a platform we could use in the future to address school issues.”