Wednesday, May 25, Kelly Avants, Chief Communications Officer of Clovis Unified School District released the following statement in response to the tragic school shooting in Texas:
Tuesday, we watched in horror and grief the events that unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Our hearts are breaking for those lost, and for the families and educators whose lives have been forever changed by the actions of one person.
Our best prevention of such tragedies lies with our team of teachers, principals, and other staff on our campuses every day and our parent community, and the and the hundreds of eyes and ears that they lend to securing our schools.
“As we reflect on the tragedy that unfolded in Texas this week, be assured that every element of our existing safety protocols is being re-examined to ensure it is relevant and reflects up-to-date best practices,” said Superintendent Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D.
“I also want to emphasize that at its core, our work revolves around our people and the supportive and trusting relationships they form with our students so that we learn of concerns early, wrap our students in physical, emotional and social supports, and maximize the eyes and ears of our staff, students, parents and community to keep our schools safe.”
In addition to extensive character development, social-emotional support systems, and safety plans in place at every school, our schools regularly conduct practice drills (including lock down, fire, facility alert and evacuation drills) so that our staff and students are very familiar with our procedures designed to immediately protect students and staff.
A trained team of sworn police officers are also in place in Clovis Unified.
Our district police force provides another line of defense to protect our schools, and work in partnership with our valuable law enforcement partners in our local police and sheriffs’ offices.
Kelly Avants, APR
Chief Communications Officer
Clovis Unified School District