Amid a rise in social media threats against schools across the nation and within the local district, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus recently held a press conference to reassure concerned parents about the steps being taken to keep students safe.
“What we need you to know [is] currently, in our school district, there are no active threats toward any of our schools or students,” she said.
Nevertheless, she said “a lot of parents have been reaching out” in response to rumors spreading online and after a gun and ammunition were reportedly found in a Winston-Salem high school last month.
McManus stressed that the district is committed to investigating every threat, in coordination with law enforcement, and will share important updates with parents.
“I know there has been a lot of discussion about weapon detection systems,” she added. “And so right now, as of last school year, we do have metal detectors in every school and those have been used in a random way. We’ve ramped up that randomness this year and actually are also doing detection within hallways and classrooms of students.”
Two schools, including Glenn High School in Kernersville, are part of a pilot program to test a detection system called OpenGate, which the superintendent said has proven to be “about 90% more effective and efficient” at screening students and visitors.
Winston-Salem Police Department Assistant Chief Katie Allen also spoke during Thursday’s press conference, noting that as the parent of children in school, she understands the concerns of others across the district.
“I have the unique advantage of knowing all the work that is being done by law enforcement and our school system to investigate, validate, protect, and secure our schools,” she said. “As a police officer and more importantly as a mother, I have the utmost confidence that our school system security personnel, teachers and administrators, our Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office [school resource officers], our Kernersville Police Department, and the officers that work at the Winston-Salem Police Department will do everything in their power to keep our children safe.”
For his part, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Henry Gray asserted that his agency remains committed to investigating “any threat, credible or not, to its fullest” and “fostering a safe learning environment for the students, teachers, faculty, and staff.”
Officials emphasized the importance of a community-wide approach to school safety, which includes alerting authorities to any perceived threat against students or faculty.
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