A few weeks ago there was a threat on social media made to Brunswick High School in Georgia. This raised concern for Battle High School, because the threat was made to “BHS” and some people thought that it was about Battle. Although it was not a threat to Battle High School, it brought up a lot of thinking about school safety.

Officer Corey Dawkins, Battle’s new resource officer, said it was the first time that he dealt with a threat in his new position. “I think school safety is paramount. When my assistant found out about the threat he ordered some other officers to investigate with me and circle the school. It is not something we take lightly,” Officer Dawkins said.

Principal Kim Presko ensures that everyone in school is safe. ”It always makes me a little anxious and nervous, but at the same time there’s so many things that go through social media that you have to step back and ask what is the validity of this,” Dr. Presko said. During the time the threat was reported, Presko followed a very thorough process to ensure students’ safety. Presko contacted many people from all over the U.S. to make sure where the threat was coming from and to ensure that everyone would be safe.

“School safety is important. I think it has become more of an issue with my career because it’s real. I see a lot more of school violence today than compared to schools 20 years ago,” Presko stated.

Presko expressed that she was pleased students told her about the threat and trusted her to do what she needed to do in order to keep everyone safe. “School safety is more than just police officers and administrators. A lot of school safety has to do with the students. There is only so much that faculty can do, but students have the power to change things in school,” Presko said.

Despite the threat, sophomore Sumaya Nour said that she feels more comfortable at school when there is a group of administrators that want to ensure the safety of other students. “I feel like Battle High School is safe, but there is a lot of things that  can still happen even though there are police officers and teachers around,” Nour said. “Nowhere is 100% safe but it is getting better each year.”

“Battle is very lucky to have administrators and students that love the school and want to help it be safe each and every day.” Sophomore Jaden Thompson said. “Although there are factors that make schools unsafe, Battle’s environment ensures that students and faculty will be safe.”