DANVILLE, Va. – 10 News is your Back-to-School Authority, and with kids heading back to school, we know safety is top of mind.
So, we’re working for you to break down the latest state report that documents student safety incidents in Southwest Virginia schools.
All Virginia public schools are required to submit student behavior reports to the Virginia Department of Education annually. The report is known as the Student Behavior and Administrative Response. It includes things that happened on school property, school buses or even at school-sponsored activities, as well as how school leaders responded.
The Student Behavior and Administrative Response is compiled and made public for everyone to see.
The Virginia Department of Education is still compiling data for the last school year, but 10 News wanted to show you what it looks like for the 2022 to 2023 school year in Danville Public Schools.
One of the more severe categories is the ‘Behaviors to Determine Persistently Dangerous Schools,’ which includes illegal activity that would require police involvement.
In Danville City schools, there was one instance where a student illegally had a gun at George Washington High School.
Another safety category in the Student Behavior and Administrative Response is the ‘Behaviors of a Safety Concern.’ The cases in this group mostly don’t require the schools to report to law enforcement.
In this category, there were 13 reports of students possessing weapons other than firearms. These cases happened at several schools, including Edwin A. Gibson, G.L.H Johnson and Woodberry Hills Elementary Schools.
There were also more than 250 cases of kids engaging in reckless behavior that created a risk of injury to themselves or others, and there were more than 200 fights.
Another category that Danville City public schools report is ‘Behaviors that Endanger Self or Others.’ There were two cases of kids threatening, intimidating or instigating violence or injury to another student or staff in writing. These incidents happened at George Washington High and Woodberry Hills Elementary. If the threat was to a staff member, then the division must report it to law enforcement, unless the student making the threat has a disability.
In the same category, there were 30 incidents reported of students possessing controlled substances, illegal drugs inhalants, synthetic hallucinogens or unauthorized prescription medications. However, these instances don’t have to be reported to law enforcement.
10 News reached out to Danville Public Schools to see what it has done in terms of safety to address the issues in this report.
In a written statement, Danville Public Schools said:
As a school division, safety is our number one priority. In the two years since this data was collected, we have continued to review and update our safety measures to ensure that any safety concerns are addressed as they arise. Within the past two years, we have implemented metal detectors in our middle and high schools, installed vape detectors in school restrooms, added security vestibules to two schools and continued to upgrade surveillance systems as funds have allowed.
Danville Public Schools
Danville Public Schools also said as it renovates its buildings, it’s adding key fob entries to classroom doors and cameras to classrooms.
The division is also working on implementing a new notification and security platform called 911 Inform this fall.
911 Inform alerts principals and first responders if there are any emergencies. First responders and principals will get a precise location of where the emergency is, such as what classroom, cutting down response time.