With the new school year starting next week, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is increasing its on-campus security presence in a major way. As reported by WSMV, every middle and high school in the district will now host school resource officers (SROs). The plan involves deploying two SROs to each of the 16 high schools and one SRO to all 30 middle schools.
Elementary schools are also set to quickly follow this shift. Three of them are starting the year with their own SROs, and five additional elementary schools are slated to have officers on campus come fall. According to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, these officers are to "build relationships" and become a larger part of the school community, as he stated during the SROs' back-to-school training and conveyed by WSMV. Drake emphasized the importance of this interaction and thanked the officers for their commitment to student safety.
The presence of SROs isn't the only measure MNPS is taking to improve school security. A "Rapid School Safety Team," consisting of 14 officers, was established in the wake of last year's Covenant shooting and has, per WSMV, led to multiple arrests of students bringing weapons on campus. Schools are also installing shatter-resistant safety film on windows across the district.
Meanwhile, Metro Police Chief Drake, in a statement obtained by NewsChannel5, assured the SROs that city leaders are behind them and that talks have shifted from eliminating to supporting the SRO program. Drake also recounted incidents where the rapid response team was able to effectively deal with armed threats at a school and daycare. In total, over 80 Metro police officers are assigned to protect Metro Schools this school year.
Touching on the decision to introduce SROs into elementary schools, Fox 17 News, through an interview with Chief Drake, reported how elementary schools were selected: "We picked the schools we thought we could have a pilot that could be successful in a particular neighborhood." As Fox 17 has covered, the implementation of SROs at these levels has been met with some concern regarding the possibility of increased arrests among young students. Yet, many parents like Candace Bridges, who has children in both elementary and high school, express relief at this additional layer of protection.
Dr. Adrienne Battle, Director of Metro Schools, expressed her gratitude for the strong partnership with MNPD and their joint efforts to further extend SRO coverage through a statement made to Fox 17. This collaboration aims to ensure the safety of all students across the district's educational institutions.
