SMMUSD superintendent’s releases message in response to Georgia high-school shooting

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Malibu High School. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.

“Sadly, we have learned of another horrific school shooting, this time in Winder, Georgia. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families and staff of Apalachee High School,” Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said in an email to the community last week. “We understand that school safety is on the minds of students, parents, staff, and community members. It is on our minds, as well.”

On September 4, 2024, a mass shooting occurred at Apalachee High School near Winder, Georgia, United States. Two students and two teachers were killed, while nine other people were injured. A suspect, 14-year-old Colt Gray, was taken into custody and charged with four counts of felony murder.

Shelton expressed his condolences and provided information on the district’s security and safety measures. Each school plan is customized and updated annually. 

You can find the district’s general safety plan online at www.smmusd.org/cms/lib/CA50000164/Centricity/Shared/SchoolSafetyPlan.pdf.

Parents may make an appointment with your school office to review your school’s plan.

“In SMMUSD we have worked and continue to work to harden the perimeters and entrances to elementary school campuses,” Shelton continued. “By creating better defenses, we reduce the potential threat. Previous bond measures have replaced and improved fences, windows and doors have been replaced, and front offices fortified with buzz-in systems and ID checks. Bell, clock, and public address systems along with electronic locks improve the communication tolockdown.

“For middle and high school, there have been incidents where threats come from inside, by a student attending the school. Secondary schools require a different approach that predominantly focuses on reducing the threat through interventions prior to the person entering with a weapon. While the middle and high school campus perimeters have been fortified using previous bond dollars, the strategy to reduce violence has been on constructing and modernizing buildings to provide more supervision, mental health support and improve response in case there is an incident.”

Shelton said as with every other school shooting — Columbine, Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and many more — they have studied what happened and strengthened their best practices to reduce threats. 

“There are many significant and minor improvements in the works, including those being designed into Measure QS (Santa Monica) and MM (Malibu) projects. (www.smmusd.org/bonds), we will be working with local law enforcement, Santa Monica Police Department, and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department serving Malibu to increase patrols to our schools both before, during and after school to provide a sense of security to our community in the coming days,” Shelton said.”We will continue to train the faculty, staff and students on what to do to prevent and respond to violence.”

Additionally, Shelton said they meet regularly with local law enforcement officials, in partnership to keep our schools and communities safe. 

“We regularly review our threat assessment protocols with our staff and local mental health professional partners,” he said. “We continue to encourage staff, students, and community members that if they “See something, Say Something.” Additionally, reporting concerns to school staff, calling 911, and/or utilizing WETIP is strongly encouraged. Student and staff safety are our top priorities. It is our goal to engage students in schools that are safe, well-maintained, and family-friendly.”

Here are three resources that may be helpful during times of school tragedies:

“Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other, Sincerely, Dr. Antonio Shelton, Superintendent.”