LEAD Public Schools Statement on Covenant School Shooting
LEAD Public Schools extends its deepest sympathies to the entire Covenant School community in the wake of this morning’s school shooting. Schools should always be a safe place for students and staff, and we are horrified this kind of tragedy has happened in our city. Our hearts are with the victims’ families, and we join the Nashville community in offering our support to them in the coming days.
As a standard precaution, we will elevate our focus on safety this week by increasing our security presence at our campuses. We will also continue to remain vigilant in our current practices to ensure a secure school environment, including:
- All exterior doors remain locked at our school campuses.
- All of our schools have secured entryways that require guests to have staff approval to enter the building.
- Our staff members receive safety training on how to handle crisis situations and run drills throughout the school year to practice what it’s like to protect our buildings.
- All of our school buildings are equipped with security cameras.
- We have conducted threat assessments in all of our school buildings to address potential weaknesses.
- For any potential threat, we maintain strong communication with the MNPS Security Office and the Metro Nashville Police Department for support.
We also recognize this incident has an emotional impact on our students and staff. This week, our student support team will be offering additional assistance to ensure our students have the support needed to process this tragedy. Our staff members will also receive assistance, if needed, and have access to free counseling services through the Employee Assistance Program in our insurance plan.
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority at LEAD Public Schools, and we will continue to evaluate and strengthen our security practices as needed to ensure our schools remain safe for all of our students and staff.
