NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — In a message to parents Friday, the interim superintendent for Newport News Public Schools gave an update about the efforts to make the district's schools safer.
In the message, Interim Superintendent Michele Mitchell says 90 weapons detection systems have been ordered, and yesterday, three Newport News high schools had them installed.
Mitchell said the school division is also hiring 30 more school security officers and is bringing in an independent consultant to assess safety measures at schools.
She said administrators are also reviewing student behavior and figuring out ways to support students, including developing an alternative program for kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
Finally, Mitchell explained the division is expanding partnerships with local law enforcement to bring police officers in as elementary school mentors and to have more sheriff's deputies in schools.
The new safety measures come in the wake of a shooting at Richneck Elementary School on January 6, where police say a 6-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher.
Mitchel also encouraged parents to serve on three new advisory committees that will bolster the school district's efforts in family engagement, school safety and student rights and responsibilities.