As summer school classes begin in the Fort Worth ISD, school officials and local police are making school security a priority.
A Fort Worth Police Department spokesperson said via email to NBCDFW, “The schools that have SROs (school resource officers) during the school year also have SROs during summer school. Those SROs have also been advised, if opportunity permits, to patrol any elementary schools in their area also.”
The district has a security plan for the summer classes, employing law enforcement, security services, physical and technological security, and emergency management. Additional measures include a 24/7 security desk that monitors surveillance cameras, a visitor monitoring system, key card access, door locks, and fencing.
“We will continue with the same safety measures that are implemented during the regular school year. Summer school is just an extension of the school year, so we will continue working with FWPD in enhancing police presence,” Claudia Garibay, FWISD external and emergency communications executive director, told The Dallas Express.
Garibay said FWISD and FWPD would implement the measures. In addition to police patroling all school campuses, she noted that SROs would be present on all campuses.
After the mass shooting in Uvalde, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes released a video message letting the community know what to expect from the local police department and its partners.
“We’re doing a lot more to make sure that we have a police presence in and around our campuses by assigning our neighborhood police officers to schools, bringing more of a patrol presence into our schools,” Noakes said in the video message.
“We’re working with our fusion center and our real-time crime center to monitor any potential threats that could occur. We’ve got some of our volunteers out being some of our extra eyes and ears on our campuses as well,” he added.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recently met with members of the East Dallas community to discuss what the department is doing to address school and public safety.
“Over the summer, you’re going to start seeing some trainer models between ourselves, school districts, [Dallas] ISD, and other entities,” Garcia told the crowd who gathered at Edna Rowe Elementary School.
The training, Chief Garcia said, would extend to places of worship, movie theaters, and malls.
Fort Worth Elementary and middle school students started their summer school classes on Monday, June 6, and high school students will begin on Monday, June 13.