Intruder Drills Conducted Monday at Northside and Smithville Elementary Schools

July 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Two DeKalb County Schools were briefly on lock down Monday but there was nothing to be alarmed about. No students were there, and it was only a drill!

Members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Smithville Police Department, and Special Agent Jimmy Puckett of the Tennessee Department of Safety Homeland Security conducted the lock down exercises at Smithville Elementary School and Northside Elementary School to make sure all interior doors were secured and teachers on site were safe.

The DeKalb County School District, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, conduct these safety protocols periodically at the schools to prepare for any possible future outside threat.

It’s called “Intruder drills” and it is something the state requires local districts to conduct at least once a year.  Similar drills will be held in the coming days at DCHS, DeKalb Middle School, and DeKalb West School and in some cases, students will be present when the lock down exercises are conducted. The Alexandria Police Department is expected to participate with the sheriff’s department at DeKalb West School.

“These drills are among the state mandated trainings we have to conduct for safety,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps. “We call it our lock down drill. It’s an opportunity for officers within the city and county to walk through our school buildings to make sure teachers are inside their locked down areas. These drills are important for us to prepare should anything unexpected ever happen. The drills today were done without students here, but we plan to do some next week with students in the building,” said Director Cripps.

According to Joey Reeder, safety director for the DeKalb County School District, the school conducting the “intruder drill” is locked down and local law enforcement officers are called upon to make a walkthrough of the school to make sure all doors are locked. That means greater fortification of schools to make it more difficult for an intruder to enter them.

“Basically, an intruder drill is where our entire school building is locked down and wherever you are at you get in the closest room,” Reeder explained. “If it happens during a normal school day when kids are in class, we lock the doors, get the kids away from the windows and doors, and try to be as quiet as we can. It’s sad we are at this place in the world that we have to keep our doors locked at all times but under state law all exterior doors have to be locked and we encourage teachers to keep the interior doors locked also. It causes some aggravation but its another layer of safety. That’s what we are about is trying to keep as many kids, faculty, and staff as safe as we can.”

The intruder drills serve a twofold purpose, according to Reeder, by putting into practice the school safety protocols and by making local law enforcement officers more familiar with the layout of the schools and they are welcome to stop in anytime.

“Our feeling on these drills is that not only does it help our schools but it’s a great deal of help to our law enforcement. Anytime we can get law enforcement in our buildings, walking around we believe that is a good thing and they are more than welcome to come. I don’t care what department they are with, Smithville, Alexandria, Sheriff’s Department, they are welcome in any of our buildings at any time,” said Reeder. “We have a lot of officers who just stop and walk through the building, and we appreciate that. Anytime you go by and see a police car outside a school, we believe it serves as somewhat of a deterrent. Fortunately for years we have always had a tremendous relationship with all the law enforcement agencies, and you can tell that by the crowd of them we had here today,” Reeder said.

July 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A new state law has taken effect which requires school districts to post notices on school buses warning that unauthorized persons may not board.

The law further requires the training standards for school bus drivers established by the state departments of education and safety to include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses; and requires student transportation management training for transportation supervisors appointed by local LEAs, charter schools, and charter management organizations to include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses.

“No one is allowed on a school bus unless authorized by law enforcement or faculty of the school, “said Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins.

“For example, if a bus is in an accident where the kids have to stay on the bus until law enforcement arrives, a parent cannot get on the bus to remove their child. The new law is intended to keep our kids safe,” said Chief Collins.

The law as adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by the governor is as follows:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2008, is amended by adding the following as a new subsection:

( ) In order to maintain safety on school buses, each LEA shall post a notice in a conspicuous place on each school bus in operation by the LEA to notify others that no person shall enter onto school buses except for those authorized pursuant to subsection

(a). The notice must include appropriate contact information in case of an issue on the school bus.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2107(g), is amended by adding “procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses pursuant to § 49-6-2008,” after “mirror usage,”.

SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2116(b), is amended by adding the following to the end of the subsection:

The annual training and management training program must include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses pursuant to § 49-6-2008.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it.

July 29, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Golden Reunion!

Fifty years after they began their education journey, members of the very first kindergarten class at DeKalb West School gathered together again Saturday evening there to celebrate and reminisce.

Twelve of the 22 students from the 1974-75 kindergarten class attended including Steven Brown, Jon Foutch, Tim Rowland, Mike McMillen, Karen Robinson, Kellie Sandlin Taylor, Stacey Mullinax Martin, Monica Kimbrell Reynolds, Leigh Ann Williams Prince, Tony Vickers, Kerry Davis, and Greg Fish.

Four former educators at DeKalb West School now retired joined the celebration including Carolyn Mullinax, Genrose Davis, Carol Hale, and Danny Parkerson who is also a former principal there.

The event featured decorations, a meal, cake, and displays of memorabilia from that time period including school yearbooks and class photos.

DeKalb West School opened its doors for the first time 50 years ago starting with the 1974-75 school year consolidating the Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown elementary schools.

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