Little Rock School District addresses making a safe environment in schools amid community violence

Little Rock, Arkansas – Parents in the Little Rock School District want to make sure schools are secure enough for community violence not to affect their children and that school officials are already making plans to assist with the worry.

A mother of a senior at Little Rock Central High School, Latriana Robertson says, her goal is for her daughter to stay safe when she is on campus. “With the violence outside of course I do try to caution her, I do ask her to do check-ins with me,” said Robertson.

She also believes communication from school officials is critical, especially when and if there’s an incident. “Continue listening and having a dialogue with the families that have students in the Little Rock School District,” said Robertson.

According to Central High School Senior, Moriah Holmes’s mother, Monica Young, she also thinks having communication with the school district will be key. “Just keep parents informed about anything that happens. The parents should be the first person the school contacts,” said Young.

According to Little Rock School District Superintendent Dr. Jermall Wright, panic buttons will be implemented on campuses. “Teachers and staff in any of our buildings will be able to eventually push this button and it will automatically send alerts and signals to other employees, other law enforcement, and also it can put the school on lockdown,” said Dr. Wright.

Holmes believes more safety improvements are needed on campuses. “So if the security would be bigger we wouldn’t have to worry about shootouts or potentially people going into the classroom,” said Holmes.

Dr. Wright did add the district does have safety measures which included security guards. “We have security guards, we have partnerships in the city where we have our SRO’s [Student Resource Officer] who are stationed at all of our middle and high schools,” said Dr. Wright.