DAYTON -- We wanted to know what Miami Valley schools do to keep your kids safe from tragedies like what we are seeing in Connecticut.
Liza Danver reports from Kettering about the safety precautions in place to protect students.
Kettering keeps all side and back doors locked. Visitors have to go in through the front door, sign in and then sign out when they leave.
Kettering City Schools prides itself on safety and following all the standard precautions at every school. But the superintendent says the key part of his district's safety plan isn't as tangible as visitors signing in and out at the front office.
"We know all our folks. We know who they are and what their situations are, we know their issues," Kettering Superintendent Jim Schoenlein said. "That's the first line of defense. We know where the trouble spots are."
Fire and tornado drills have always been the norm but following the Columbine massacre more than a decade ago Kettering added lockdown drills to the mix.
A secret code word is said over the loud speaker and students immediately get under their desks while teachers lock and cover all classroom doors and windows.
"You take that time out of instruction to drill and drill and drill," Schoenlein said. "Sometimes you think, was this really necessary and then you turn on the TV and you see what happened today and you say, yes this is really necessary."
Dayton Public School officials say it goes one step further with their district. They keep all the front doors of the schools locked, too. Visitors have to be buzzed in.
Liza Danver reports from Kettering about the safety precautions in place to protect students.
Kettering keeps all side and back doors locked. Visitors have to go in through the front door, sign in and then sign out when they leave.
Kettering City Schools prides itself on safety and following all the standard precautions at every school. But the superintendent says the key part of his district's safety plan isn't as tangible as visitors signing in and out at the front office.
"We know all our folks. We know who they are and what their situations are, we know their issues," Kettering Superintendent Jim Schoenlein said. "That's the first line of defense. We know where the trouble spots are."
Fire and tornado drills have always been the norm but following the Columbine massacre more than a decade ago Kettering added lockdown drills to the mix.
A secret code word is said over the loud speaker and students immediately get under their desks while teachers lock and cover all classroom doors and windows.
"You take that time out of instruction to drill and drill and drill," Schoenlein said. "Sometimes you think, was this really necessary and then you turn on the TV and you see what happened today and you say, yes this is really necessary."
Dayton Public School officials say it goes one step further with their district. They keep all the front doors of the schools locked, too. Visitors have to be buzzed in.
