Montgomery County Schools release safety survey for families, reinforce protocols following Newport News school shooting

The survey asks families to select safety measures they consider to be a priority

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – School districts in our area are re-evaluating their response to safety and security concerns.

This comes after police say a six-year-old shot his elementary school teacher in Newport News.

One school district in our area reflecting on the tragedy, Montgomery County Public Schools.

Superintendent Dr. Bernard F. Bragen Jr. sent an email home to families sharing his thoughts about the recent event in Newport News.

In the email, he also detailed how he and his staff were reviewing their protocols and expectations on what to do if someone has a weapon or hears of a weapon potentially being on school grounds.

“So what we wanted to reinforce to our staff was listen, pay attention to people when they make suggestions. ‘We heard this. We saw this.’ We have a responsibility to investigate those as best as we can and if there was any potential conflict to try and mitigate it before it happens,” Bragen said.

The district also sent home a school safety survey for families to complete.

The survey asks families to select from a list their top three safety measures that they consider a priority.

Some answers include better cameras, more school resource officers, door barricade systems, and other options.

“I’m excited to get the feedback from our community on what they think we need to do,” Bragen said. “What are some of the concerns that they have and maybe some things that we aren’t aware of. And some things we could implement to make the school system safer than it already is.”

Survey results are due by Feb. 10.


About the Author:

Sydney joined the WSLS 10 News team in June 2021.