Sampson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jamie King met with middle and high school principals this past Thursday to discuss updates on the new weapon scanners that have been implemented in the schools for the first time, with the reviews overall positive.
“It sounds like, for the most part, there are no major concerns,” King said after the meeting.
“They felt — the middle school and high school principals — like it’s gone really well.”
The superintendent reflected on the first week of school with the scanners.
“We definitely saw that the more three-ring binders kids had in their bag, that seemed to set the machines off more. So I think the first couple days, our staff really were able to see what were the things that would set the system off.”
King said he thinks Sampson County Schools students and staff have now learned what needs to be removed when going through the weapon scanners.
“Now, three or four weeks in with the scanners, we’re not seeing any real delays for opening the schools,” King said. “No one’s late to class.”
And, the even better news, the superintendent pointed out, nothing serious has been discovered.
“During our normal morning entrances, we have not uncovered any unauthorized objects or things that shouldn’t be brought to school,” King noted.
He continued, “Now, do I think students aren’t bringing some things because of that? Yes, and we’ll never know students’ thoughts and perceptions and how (walking through the scanners) changes what they bring — but I’m positive in at least knowing that we haven’t gotten anything — and that tells me that students have learned they can’t bring anything.”
King said principals would like more time to learn how to program and use the weapon scanners before any changes are made to the the machine’s settings.
“We talked a lot about as we change the settings that affect what kids bring to school — whether that’s three-ring binders, whether that’s spiral-bound notebooks — that before we want to change the (scanner) intensity … we might need to really wait until next school year so that we do a better supply list knowing that we’ll have these devices,” King recalled about the meeting with the school principals.
It was also addressed at the meeting with principals when the weapon scanners may be used at future athletic events.
King said he told principals, “We kind of left it up to principals to say, if you have a major event at your school where you feel like you’re going to have a lot of people, by all means, feel free to use it.”
He emphasized that scanners are not mandated for school events at this point.
“I think, again, we still want to learn some more about all of the different settings so that when we implement them for athletics, we kind of know where we’re at and what we’re gonna find and not find.”
King emphasized that he also wants to make parents and the public aware that the weapon detectors will someday be implemented at athletic events.
For now, though, the superintendent and his academic leaders seem pleased with how the implementation has been going.
“Our staffs have been wonderful in helping to learn and run the machines, our students have been great about also understanding that this is a learning process, parents have been really helpful to let us know any concerns they have, so I think it’s gone really well,” the superintendent said.
He noted that the scanners are “a good next step” in Sampson County Schools’ safety mechanisms.