Hamilton Middle School Assistant Principal David Pierotti, National School Safety and Security Services senior consultant Chuck Hibbert and president Kenneth Trump speak with Principal Kevin Campbell at the school on Tuesday. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Wood County Schools has contracted National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based, national school safety consulting firm, to do a comprehensive review of the safety and security of the schools in the district.

“Safety is our number one priority,” Wood County Schools Superintendent Christie Willis said. “We just wanted an extra pair of eyes to come in and tell us what we’re doing well, where we could be doing better and what we could do to improve the overall safety for our schools.”

According to their website, the firm has more than four decades of first-hand experience as full-time school safety practitioners and administrators, and as national consultants.

It said their work has included intensive interaction with school administrators, school security and police officers, teachers, support staff, students, parents, community law enforcement and public safety agencies, attorneys, elected officials, and other key members of school communities from all 50 states.

Kenneth Trump, Ed.D., president of the firm, and senior consultant Chuck Hibbert have spent the last week and a half in Wood County touring area schools and speaking to administrators and staff as they compile information for their comprehensive review.

National School Safety and Security Services senior consultant Chuck Hibbert and President Kenneth Trump speak to Wood County Schools Superintendent Christie Willis, Assistant Superintendent Kaleb Lawrence and Safety and Security Coordinator Jeremy Bell on Tuesday. (Photo Provided)

Trump said the focus of their review has been on understanding the unique culture and needs of each individual school, rather than just examining physical security measures.

“If you’ve seen one school, you’ve seen one school,” Trump said. “Each school district and even each school within a district is unique in terms of its facilities, climate, community relations and the specific needs of the students it serves.”

He said the assessment process has involved reviewing district policies and plans, as well as conducting extensive interviews with administrators, teachers, support staff, and even students, with the goal being to identify both the strengths and potential gaps in the district’s overall approach to school safety.

“School safety is about people,” Trump said. “The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body.”

He said a key emphasis has been on the importance of strong relationships and connections between students and adults in the school community. He said the number one way threats are identified is when students feel comfortable coming forward to trusted adults.

He said while physical security measures like cameras and access control systems can play a role, he cautioned against over-reliance on “security theater” that creates a false sense of safety. He stressed the need for a comprehensive approach that supports the social, emotional, and mental health needs of students.

“Wood County, like any school district in the country, has kids with many diverse needs, special education needs, social, emotional and mental health needs,” Trump said.

He said it was important for school administrators and staff to do things like greet kids by name as they arrive for school or out in the hallways. He said talking to those kids that have known challenges just to check on them is also important.

“I saw that,” Trump said about his visits to local schools. “We saw that right in front of us. Principals being out and visible at arrival and dismissal, welcoming kids when they come into the building, which is a huge thing.”

Trump cautioned against an overemphasis on active shooter preparedness at the expense of other critical safety considerations.

“Active shooters are a low probability, high impact event,” he said. “While one school shooting is one too many, we have to be careful not to develop tunnel vision focused solely on that scenario.”

He noted that while active shooter drills and planning are important, schools must maintain that comprehensive approach to safety that addresses a wide range of potential threats and incidents. This includes issues like custody disputes, visitor management and student mental health and wellbeing.

“The number one way we find out about weapons and plots is when a student comes forward to a trusted adult,” Trump said. “That comes down to the relationships and connectedness between students and staff, which is often the most important, yet invisible, part of school safety.”

He said while some districts have explored the use of armed security guards or “guardian” programs, he expressed reservations about the implementation challenges and potential downsides of such measures. He emphasized the importance of having certified law enforcement officers serving as school resource officers, rather than arming teachers or other staff.

“There are a lot of things that sound good on paper, but the devil is in the details of implementation,” Trump said. “We have to be very careful about creating unintended consequences or a false sense of security.”

He said they will wrap up their tour of local schools on Friday. It could take up to eight weeks to complete the comprehensive review but the goal is to provide the district with recommendations on strengthening their overall safety protocols and procedures to help the district maintain a safe, welcoming environment while also ensuring the highest levels of safety and security for students and staff.

“When school security works it is because of people. When school security fails, it’s because of people,” Trump said. “That’s why we have to recognize that and create a culture of safety, where it’s See Something, Say Something. But we also want to train people on how to do something.”

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com