This article was published in the February 12 2013 print edition of The Scuppernong Reminder.
School security issues are a great concern to people in light of tragic December 2012 school shootings in Connecticut.

School security issues are a great concern to people in light of tragic December 2012 school shootings in Connecticut.

“We work with the Sheriff’s Department. We work with the Fire Department. We have emergency plans that are practiced,” said Tyrrell County School Superintendent Michael Dunsmore.

Dunsmore also mentioned that there are formal drills which school officials assess. These procedures are part of plans that have be submitted to state officials who regularly monitor that schools are staying updated on the latest practices.

Tyrrell Elementary School had some changes made to its entry door due to related security recommendations. Access to and from the building has also changed.

“We have also made some changes when anyone comes into the school they are supposed to sign in. This way we know what people are here that do not have the proper identification tags,” said Craig Davenport, deputy at the Tyrrell County Sheriff’s Department.  Davenport is the Tyrrell County Schools’ School Resource Officer.

At the Tyrrell Elementary School recently, a color-coded system was implemented whereby the tag that person is wearing fits which classroom they are going to and fits the color of the hallway.

“This way we can tell if someone is going down to a certain classroom, for example, on the red hallway and they end up somewhere else. Then we know they are not where they are supposed to be,” said Davenport.

Davenport went to the North Carolina Justice Academy in Salemburg, North Carolina and attended a School Resource Officer Class which lasted for a week. He also went back for a second class on School Resource Officer law.

Davenport and Dunsmore noted that the heightened sense of security should not be out of fear.

“We have to go about our business and teach our children.  We need to give them every opportunity to move about. We do not need to make that a detriment to their education. That is the fine line we walk,” said Dunsmore.

Davenport and Dunsmore are parents and said that is important to them.

“There is not any resource more valuable than our children,” said Davenport.