SEATTLE — Some parents told KING 5 they are concerned after several schools in Seattle were put under lockdown and shelter-in-place orders on Wednesday.
Parents who were waiting for their kids outside Garfield High School during their shelter-in-place order said they think the city and school district need to do more to ensure the safety of students.
“Whenever we have incidents, it causes us to pause, it causes us to engage our full team, our school team, and our community,” said Marni Campbell, the executive director of operations for Seattle Public Schools.
On Wednesday there was a fight at Garfield High School and a nearby shooting, which led to four schools being locked down or under shelter-in-place orders. That same day, Nathan Hale High School was put on a shelter-in-place after it was reported that a student brandished a gun at another student in the school parking lot. Campbell said the district has not seen increased guns being brought to schools.
“We are, however, getting more reporting about potential concerns of firearms and potentially other weapons, and that just means that our system is working as it should,” said Campbell, talking about the school's reporting system.
Several parents waiting outside Garfield for their kids on Wednesday said they want the school district to do more to protect their kids. Some parents want metal detectors and security guards. Campbell said those ideas are not always off the table, but they are now focusing on other things.
“Making sure that we are keeping our doors locked, something as basic as that,” said Campbell. “And then making sure that anyone who enters the school immediately signs it in the main office.”
It has been almost one year since a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed by another student inside Ingraham High School. Campbell said the district already had safety projects underway, but that incident caused them to speed some up. She said one focus has been on making safety improvements to the buildings.
“Access control locks on both classrooms and on our exterior doors, things like fencing that we are improving, and improving our cameras as well,” said Campbell.
Campbell said many of the issues seen in schools start in the community, and that preventing violence in schools is a group effort.
“A huge part of that solution is that ability for families and students to communicate with us, anyone in our community to let us know if they see something that's a concern,” said Campbell.
Campbell said the district expanded their reporting system on their app to be districtwide this semester so that community members and students have an easy way to report any concerns.
Campbell said they have security specialists in some schools that patrol the campus and work to create a safe environment. She said they also have a central security office that regulates cameras around the district and a security company they contract with that they can utilize for events where they feel extra security is needed.
“We're making the improvements and adjustments we need to make in order to keep our students safe,” said Campbell.