THOMASVILLE- When Superintendent Dr. Scott Sweeting took over the helm of the Thomasville City Schools, his top priority was school safety. 

“Safety has been and will remain my number one priority,” Sweeting said. “If we aren’t safe, no one can learn.” 

While various safety plans and tools such as the CENTEGIX Crisis Alert Badge are in place, Sweeting still felt more could be done. 

Per Sweeting’s request, Lawrence Miller, Homeland Security Coordinator for Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), visited all Thomasville City Schools for site assessments. 

According to GEMA, the purpose of the site assessment is to “conduct a basic multi-discipline evaluation of the site to gauge existing or potential hazards, conditions, or practices that may impact the safety and wellbeing of the property and those that are present.” The assessment takes an all-hazard approach and is based on best practices and local response protocols. 

“GEMA’s Homeland Security Division is tasked to review each public school’s safety plan,” Miller explained. “We make sure it includes all of the state requirements.”

Safety plans must discuss what each school’s plan is during a lockdown, finding a safe corner, and ensuring everyone in every classroom understands where to go. 

When conducting a site assessment, Miller takes that safety plan into account, focusing on active attacks on school grounds, while also assessing the school’s plans for severe weather and fires. 

“We are working on school safety as a whole,” he said. “We have a wide range of things we look at.” 

However, part of the safety plan includes planning ahead, which is why schools traditionally have refrained from attending on days when severe weather may strike. 

“We can kind of anticipate and see if we need to let out early or cancel school,” he said. “Typically, the things students would be in school for, especially in Southwest Georgia, would be a tornado. They can’t give out tornado watches, but we may hear the weather is favorable for tornado development. That’s why we look at severe weather plans.” 

While visiting the sites, Miller commended Sweeting and the staff. 

“The district and schools are very safety-focused,” Miller said. “I can see where they are working to keep their schools safe.” 

Sweeting appreciated Miller’s comments, sharing that Miller provided Thomasville City Schools with a good idea of where they stand. 

“There’s always improvements we can make,” Sweeting said. “We are going to utilize our resources and suggestions from GEMA and our Safety Committee and make recommendations to put before the Board while remaining fiscally responsible.” 

Beyond site assessments, Miller also hosts a variation of safety courses, including Behavioral Threat and Management Assessments, Stop the Bleed, and Civilian Response to Active Weapons, which are all designed to better identify children on a potentially dangerous path, and how to help in a crisis event. 

Miller and Sweeting have discussed the possibility of offering these resources and classes to staff in the future. 

“Everything we do, we’ve talked extensively about and met with the Board of Education about,” Miller said, reiterating the school’s safety-focused game plan. 

Miller is excited to work with Sweeting on further plans, as Thomas County is part of the district he covers. 

“I hope we can continue to lean on the guidance of security professionals to make schools a safe place to learn for our students,” Sweeting concluded.