The Revere Local School District is taking the initiative to better protect its students and staff by improving their safety protocols through a series of training sessions.

The training sessions took place on several occasions throughout the summer, with the most recent meeting occurring at Revere High School on the 25 and 26 of August. To accommodate the staff’s training, the district utilized two of their waiver days, therefore extending their students’ summer. According to RHS principal Phillip King, the district enacted the new training in compliance with new state statutes regarding security within Ohio’s schools. Eric Shaffer, officer at the Bath Police Department and Student Resource Officer within the district, spoke of the training’s beginnings.

“The district has a safety committee in place that consists of building administrators, board administrators, and local safety force representatives from both Bath and Richfield. This committee decided during last school year that we wanted to provide training for all staff prior to [this] school year,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer also explained the content of the training.

“The training consisted of three hours of classroom material the first day, then three hours of physical training on day two. On the first day the staff rotated from three different subjects consisting of CPR/AED/choking, lockdown/barricading/Go Bags, and Q&A with board administrators and safety forces regarding safety. [On] day two, staff rotated to three different drills. [The] mass casualty drill [was] where staff rotated to small stations for first aid, splinting, patient movement, [and how to treat] bleeding. Staff went through an active lockdown drill simulated during a classroom change. Each classroom had law enforcement personnel to supervise and provide instruction during the drill. Then staff went to library to hear a speaker from FBI who is a bomb technician to discuss explosives. They also went through a Hidden [in] Plain Sight [presentation] for drug awareness,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer also stated that while the district hopes to never have reason to utilize the new training while in an actual emergency situation, “being prepared is essential.”

The entirety of the district’s staff took place in the training. RHS English teacher Elizabeth Long spoke of the peace of mind she gained from the experience.

“I feel better informed and ready to handle situations that may arise in or around my classroom,” Long said.

In addition to the staff’s training, the district plans to have its students walk through various drills as well. King discussed several additions to the buildings within the district that are designed to better protect its staff and students.

“We [now] have magnets on the doors so that people can keep their doors unlocked, but [when] you move the magnet it locks automatically…. The hallways are [also] painted differently. We have a [colored] stripe [in every hall]. That’s basically for our outside security forces, either fireman or police. If they would have to come into the building, they could locate a hallway very quickly by just saying what color the hallway is….They’re not used to the terminology we use, like ‘the alma-mater hallway’ or ‘the math hallway’; they don’t know that, so I think having those stripes up there [would] be very helpful to them,” King said.

The district is also promoting awareness and cooperation among its students and staff with its slogan, “See Something, Say Something.” Randy Boroff, Superintendent of the Revere Local School District, discussed their attitude concerning the wellbeing of their school system.

“We are serious about the safety and security of our students, our staff and our buildings. Procedures may seem at times to be inconvenient but they have been developed to ensure a safe and secure [learning] environment,” Boroff said.

Staff, students and their families are encouraged to report a potential safety or security issue to Revere’s anonymous Safe Schools Hotline, which can be contacted via the number located on the district website’s homepage.