CULLMAN, Ala. – At a high school in Winder, Georgia, (near Atlanta) on Sept. 4, the AP reported, “A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe.”
In light of this most recent school shooting, The Tribune talked with Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry and City of Cullman Public Safety Director Brian Bradberry about what plans are in place at local schools.
Gentry said the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Cullman County Board of Education (CCBOE) have a collaborative relationship and work together diligently to provide the safest learning environment possible.
“Without a doubt, our children are our most valuable asset,” Gentry said. “The safety and well-being of our students have always, and will continue to be, the No. 1 priority of the sheriff’s office. I am very proud of our relationship with (Superintendent) Dr. Barnette and the board of education. We have been able to add four deputies to our schools since I have been in office, and I hope to increase that number moving forward.”
Each school campus in the Cullman County system has a school resource officer (SRO) assigned specifically to that school. Two of the larger campuses have two SROs, and there are plans to add more to all campuses.
“Each of these deputies is highly trained and experienced,” Gentry said. “Several of our SROs have military experience. The unit is also comprised of many current and/or former members of the SWAT Team.”
Gentry shared that CCSO SROs are trained and certified through the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO).
“This provides training in a wide range of school safety areas, including site assessments and behavioral indicators of students,” Gentry said. “Every SRO is certified as an ALICE active shooter instructor, and is trained in the RAIDER solo response for active shooting situations.”
Additionally, the SROs received training throughout the year in firearms, defensive tactics and other areas vital to keeping students, faculty and staff safe.
“Our SROs work with the CCBOE and the individual schools in creating, implementing and updating the school safety plans,” Gentry said. “All the school staff members are trained by our deputies on how to respond in the event of a shooting incident as well. Many times this includes scenario-based (hands-on) training, providing the teachers with a unique insight into these situations.”
Due to the number of school shootings across the country, students, faculty, staff and parents have obvious concerns about school safety.
“Our SROs have one job – to keep the schools safe. While all the training and preparations are important and necessary, it is the proactive part of their job that is the most important,” Gentry said. “Being at the schools and establishing relationships is the key. Across the country, the trust and communication between students, staff and law enforcement have prevented more of these horrible incidents than any other training or measure taken. The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and the Cullman County Board of Education will continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of our schools.”
Bradberry said he and the City’s police, fire and 911 dispatch leadership recently had a school safety meeting at Cullman High School and are coordinating and planning now better than ever.
“We have truly been working hard to coordinate and work with our schools to provide the best safety possible for our schools,” Bradberry said. “The City of Cullman public safety departments are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students in our community. We understand that parents need to have confidence in the measures taken to protect their children while they are at school. Our school leadership’s planning efforts and their willingness to meet and train together have been instrumental for improving our first responder response to emergencies.”
Bradberry said that most recently, all public safety departments came together with school administrators to work to ensure that school safety plans are aligned with first responder protocols, to help provide a seamless and effective response in any emergency situation.
“We always want to improve and maintain our preparedness, planning, and face-to-face interaction is one of the best methods of doing so in my opinion,” Bradberry said. “We have very intelligent school officials and first responders who share the goal of keeping our children safe. We have been working together over the summer to maintain and improve planning in emergency preparedness/response, communication protocols, coordination between first responders and school officials, and crisis intervention.”
Bradberry said they conducted comprehensive walk-through risk assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities, and work closely with the Cullman County EMA to ensure they have good quality communication with the resources (state and federal) are available to them.
“Our first responders are highly trained professionals who undergo rigorous and continuous training to stay prepared for many different scenarios,” Bradberry said. “This includes specialized training in school safety and emergency response. Our 911 telecommunicators are adept at managing crisis situations, ensuring that help is dispatched swiftly and efficiently. Our firefighters and police officers are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to handle emergencies with precision and care, and our Cullman EMS professionals are an intricate part of our initial emergency response.”
Bradberry reiterated Gentry’s statements regarding SROs who are very dedicated to maintaining and enhancing school safety.
“We also have public safety department leaders that communicate well, and that all have the same goal of providing the absolute best school safety response possible,” Bradberry said. “An emergency requires a lot of interagency coordination and preplanning, and we are as committed as ever to that task. We truly have a great team of first responders here in Cullman. We appreciate the school administrators’ dedication to building quality working relationships relating to school safety, as communication and preplanning are a big part of bringing chaos under control during any emergency and we want to be the best that we can be when involving such an important mission.”
Bradberry said children’s safety is of the utmost importance to everyone and the support received from the mayor, city council members and school officials has made progress possible.
“Parents can rest assured that the City of Cullman is dedicated to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all students,” Bradberry said. “The recent training session is just one example of our ongoing commitment to enhancing school safety through improved coordination and communication among public safety departments and school officials.”
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