Department of Education Announce Initiatives to Ensure Campus Safety  

August 2, 2022
Department of Education Announce Initiatives to Ensure Campus Safety  

The Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) has announced a series of initiatives to ensure the safety of students and school staff, and to shed light on the Department’s actions in light of the recent spike in altercations on secondary school campuses. Plans consist of a comprehensive program that provides social and emotional support to help students better manage their emotions and the ongoing buildout of safety systems and procedures across all school campuses. 

During a Facebook Live presentation on Aug. 31, Education Commissioner Nominee Dr. Dionne Wells-Hedrington brought together school and district officials for an open discussion on school safety. 

“At the Department of Education, we have a zero-tolerance policy, so students aren’t going to be allowed to disrupt the day-to-day operations of our schools to interrupt teaching and learning,” Wells-Hedrington said. “But we do understand the Department of Education has a responsibility to provide education to our children, to ensure the child develops on the whole. That means, we are focusing more on social-emotional learning—we are trying to meet students where they are and take them to where we need them to be.” 

Social-Emotional Learning 

Four tiers of intervention are planned: 

School Safety & Disaster Planning  

“We have learned from Uvalde and we do not want what happened in Uvalde and other schools and districts on the mainland to happen here,” Assistant Commissioner Victor Somme III said. “We know our strengths and weaknesses as it pertains to the safety of our building facilities, and we are moving in the direction to secure and ensure those deficiencies are met.” 

In an emergency meeting with Sen. Genevieve Whitaker and other members of the 34th Legislature on Sept. 1, Wells-Hedrington requested additional funding from legislators for the creation of a Campus Security Bureau that will provide safety enforcement on all school campuses. Furthermore, to ensure the hiring of more school monitors, funding was also requested to cover the $1,000 fee required for applicants to undergo a psychological evaluation. 

During a lockdown and search conducted by the VIPD on Sept. 1 at Charlotte Amalie High School, knives, scissors, and brass knuckles were confiscated; guns were not found. During a subsequent search and lockdown of Ivanna Eudora Kean High School the same day, no contraband was discovered. “We want to ensure our students, employees and the community that we are doing our due diligence and will continue to work closely with VIPD to address unwarranted behaviors by some students on our school campuses,” Wells-Hedrington said. “This isn’t a VIDE problem, but a community issue that can be fixed and will be fixed if we work together. We welcome the involvement of all stakeholders to ensure that we create safe and welcoming learning spaces at our schools.” 

###

Department of Education Announce Initiatives to Ensure Campus Safety  

Print

Sign in to your account