As Metro Nashville Public Schools enters into the 2024-25 school year, the safety of our students and staff remains top of mind for the district and Metro Nashville Police Department.
The partnership includes police working with school teams to develop site-specific emergency operations plans meant to provide a roadmap for dealing with a crisis as well as identifying any areas for improvement in the safety of our buildings.
The MNPD also will once again provide CRASE training for all school teams before the start of the school year to ensure staff know how to respond in situations involving active aggressors. MNPD officers will also participate in table-top exercises with all school teams and provide feedback on various safety drills the teams will be conducting as part of their preparation for the new school year.
MNPD School Resource Officers
As the police department has been able to recruit new officers and expand community policing efforts, this has created the opportunity to recruit more officers into the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
Metro Schools currently have a police presence at their school in the form of either community police officers who monitor and patrol or SROs embedded in the school environment. Currently at MNPS, middle and high schools have an assigned SRO. Some of those schools share campuses with elementaries, and SROs have been engaged in partnerships with those elementary schools to provide support and guidance for students.
Starting in the 2022-23 school year, the MNPD began an initiative to post community police officers at elementary schools to provide support to those school teams as well as offering visibility as a deterrence to threats. This initiative will continue into the new school year, while some elementary schools will transition into a full-time trained SRO who also provides exterior visibility and support for schools as well as working with administrators to develop and monitor safety plans and promote positive relationships and provide mentorship to students. These elementary SROs will be assigned as they join the school safety team, with a goal of having coverage at all elementary schools as staffing is available. These officers' presence has been well received by both the school and the community at large.
MNPS and the MNPD have worked to develop protocols for these elementary SROs to reflect the younger age of the students while providing training for new and current SROs in the areas of social-emotional development, students with exceptional needs, and age-specific guidance.
While SROs respond to potential threats and criminal activity on campus, they are not involved in disciplinary actions at schools – those continue to be addressed by teachers and school administrators.
The MNPD will continue to increase the number of SROs as staffing availability allows, utilizing state SRO grant funds to help cover the additional costs for the new officers. SROs are chosen from experienced members of the existing police force who apply to these positions or transfer from other police agencies.
Other Safety Initiatives
In addition to our partnership with the MNPD, Metro Schools has initiated many safety and security systems and protocols over decades in alignment with best practices. Below are some of the key ongoing safety programs and protocols that have been implemented or are in process to keep students and staff safe:
- MNPS has been working with a contracted vendor to install shatter-resistant safety film at all of our schools, with an anticipated completion of the end of the school year.
- The district continues to install Audio Enhancement systems in our schools that primarily function as an enhancement to the classroom learning environment by projecting the teacher's voice throughout the room to all students, but that also includes safety features that allow the teacher to communicate any threats or danger to the school administration. All middle and high schools, as well as some elementary schools, have this system, and more will be added throughout the school year with a goal of all schools having them in the coming school year (subject to additional funding allocations).
- The district’s Safety Ambassador program at elementary schools will continue this school year, utilizing ESSER bridge funding provided by Metro Government through the district’s fund balance. These staff help schools monitor and implement safety plans, monitor hallways and doors for compliance with rules, and support staff and administrators in ensuring a safe learning environment.
- The district has implemented brandished weapon detection systems throughout our security camera network that provide alerts to school and police personnel in the event of a visible gun on school campus.
- Metro Schools provides robust security measures such as AV intercom locks, security cameras, routine drills and safety exercises, visitor management systems, badge access controls, and other measures to enhance safety and create a controlled environment at our schools.