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CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Following a gun scare in November that forced the district to lock down, Clintondale Community Schools is reviewing and implementing new district-wide security policies for the new year.
Launched through the district’s administration, Clintondale’s new approach to security seeks to broaden existing policies while adding new ones.
“After the first threat with the (airsoft) gun on campus, we sent out surveys to all staff (to find out) some things they’re concerned about (and) find out how we can help make sure they’re safe and students are safe,” Clintondale Superintendent Rodriguez Broadnax said. “We also had a meeting with administration right after the first threat and started to put some new things together.”
Clintondale’s approach to school safety can be seen as targeting three levels of responsibility: students, faculty and the community as a whole. The district is also seeking help from the FBI and the U.S. Office of the Attorney General to fulfill this.
On the student level, changes will include more instruction about how to act during a shooting or lockdown incident, as well as new restrictions on personal items. Speakers from the federal agencies will come and teach students about ALICE — alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate — training. Broadnax says students at the district’s middle and high schools are no longer allowed to bring backpacks throughout the schools, while plans to require transparent backpacks are being discussed.
According to Broadnax, faculty members have already been receiving ALICE training since last year. The level of changes will involve a review of lockdown procedures and further work with ALICE training methods, with the district seeking input from the Clinton Township Police Department about ways to improve it.
At the community level of responsibility, a Safety and Security Taskforce is being created that seeks to include principals, teachers, students, parents, social workers, security members and the athletic director to address security concerns. Community members interested in joining can sign up for the group through a Google form on Clintondale Community Schools website.
Other changes Broadnax seeks to make include purchasing new doors, intercom systems and security cameras. Clintondale currently employs security guards at its schools and requires guests to be buzzed in and present identification to enter during school hours. The district does not have school resource officers, and Broadnax says the district has requested more Clinton Township Police Department patrols around district property. Students are currently taught how to act during a lockdown.
Clintondale’s changes to school safety come at a time when schools in Macomb County and metro Detroit are experiencing a wave of threats and violence. Schools across southeast Michigan have been dealing with threats posted to social media, with some districts choosing to cancel classes based on the status of investigations into the credibility of threats.
November 30 marked the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Oxford High School in which a student killed four students and injured seven other people. Many schools in the region were inundated with threats following the attack.
“A lot of schools think that those types of things are never going to happen to them,” Broadnax said. “But in the time (since the November incident at Clintondale), we have really had to think about how we can spend our dollars effectively and efficiently to ensure our staff and students and school community are safe.”
Broadnax said he recognizes the changes will require the district to spend money. While Clintondale’s business manager is directed to find funding sources to help with this, Broadnax is ready to spend for security.
“Sometimes, you’ve just got to pay,” Broadnax said.
The Clintondale Community Schools Board of Education has not taken any action regarding the changes — changes made so far have been through district administration — although Board President Beverly Lewis-Moss says the district’s legislative body supports the changes.
“We’re on board with it because we feel it’s necessary,” Lewis-Moss said. “The safety and well-being of our students has to be top priority.”
Lewis-Moss expects some board members to have a spot on the Safety and Security Taskforce.
While the administration is looking to implement some changes before the district goes on holiday break, many will occur in 2023. Broadnax expects the Safety and Security Taskforce will begin work in January.
