Beauregard Elementary receives award for excellence in school safety
AUBURN, AL (WTVM) - Beauregard Elementary School students chants "BES is the best" Thursday, after receiving the 2014 Attorney General's Safe School Initiative Award of Excellence for District 2.
"I am very pleased to recognize Beauregard Elementary School because they took the extra steps to add additional features we recommend in our guide for schools. So I want to reward to reward those who take those steps and thank the teachers and the school resource officers," Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said.
In the decision making process, judges noted BES for implementing several "Best Practices," like safety plan flip books and safety bags, as well as its continuous involvement with the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
"All of our schools here in Lee County are focused not just on making sure these children have the best education they can possibly provide, but ensuring a safe environment for that to take place," Lee County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Jay Jones said.
Beauregard Elementary staff credits the honor to their close-knit community and for their efforts to make BES a safe school to attend.
"We give our teachers permission to react to situations, hazardous situations in the best way that they thing, based on the information that they have," BES Safety Chair Erin Redden said.
The Lee County School District meets with the sheriff's department once a month to discuss issues and trends in order to be updated with the latest best practices.
"When we do a drill, we truly make that a teachable moment rather than just conditioning for reaction. Allowing students in a crisis situation to use the best information they have, enabling teachers to be empowered using the information they have to make the best decision they can to put safety in the forefront," Dr. Jason Wright of the Lee County School District said.
Strange hopes through the years this award will keep public schools thinking about how to better keep students safe.
"Unfortunately, we've witnessed some tragedies in schools. They best thing we can do is be proactive and use the best practices," Strange said.
One school was selected as the winner from each of the Alabama State School Board of Education's eight districts.
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