NEWARK – A school safety conference featuring nationally known speakers will take place in Worcester County next month.
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Fla., the Worcester County Board of Education honored the victims with a moment of silence Tuesday. Officials also announced that a safety conference hosted by the Maryland Center for School Safety in cooperation with Safe and Sound Schools would take place at Worcester Technical High School March 13.
“We are very fortunate to have that opportunity,” said Steve Price, the school system’s chief operating officer.
Superintendent Lou Taylor told those in attendance at Tuesday’s school board meeting that local educators always worked closely with law enforcement to ensure the county’s schools remained safe.
“In light of this most recent incident, I want to take just a moment to assure our school community that we continue to forge ahead in evaluating and enhancing the security in all of our schools,” Taylor said. “Our community can have great confidence that the practices and measures in place have the full support of not only our school system but all our local law enforcement as well.”
Price agreed and encouraged members of the community to be vigilant.
“If you hear something or you see something, say something,” Price said.
He said he’d met with local law enforcement officials this week and would continue to work closely with them.
Price said that prior to the shooting in Florida, he’d been contacted by Ed Clarke, executive director of the Maryland Center for School Safety. Clarke wanted to hold a school safety conference at Worcester Technical High School that local educators would be able to attend at no cost to the county. Price said he planned to invite school system officials from Somerset and Wicomico counties as well. Speakers at the conference will include a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting, the superintendent of Joplin, Mo., schools at the time of the 2011 tornado, a teacher injured in the Columbine shooting and the mother of a child killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“That entire group of speakers will be available for a panel discussion with our school administrators and our leadership team,” Price said.
Price said he was also in the process of arranging to have relevant speakers meet with school administrators in August during the annual local safety conference held before the first day of school.
