At school safety conference, message in the wake of Uvalde is one of vigilance

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - It’s been five months since the school massacre at Uvalde, Texas.

And more than ever, safety on campuses remains a critical priority.

That’s why the Department of Education is hosting a three-day conference this week centered on security training. The School Safety Advocacy Council led the presentations, which focused on real-life scenarios, response, and prevention.

National data shows there were more than 90 school shootings across the country last year.

And while no major incidents have happened in Hawaii, safety experts say institutions need to be on high alert.

“We have to realize that we don’t live in the times that we used to live in,” said School Safety Advocacy Council President Sean Burke.

“There are a great number of people that want to hurt our children. There are also other things that happen either man made or natural that put stress on our schools that are a threat to the safety of our children.”

DOE employees from across the state attended the conference, including administrators, teachers, security, front office, and custodial staff.

“We’ve been very fortunate in Hawaii that we haven’t had to experience those situation,” said DOE deputy Superintendent Heidi Armstrong.

“It’s very important that we’re aware of that and we take lessons learned from those situations to ensure that our safety plans and our safety protocols and our everyday situational awareness of what’s going on in our schools, that we remain vigilant in that.”

The DOE hopes to have more training exercises and drills throughout the school year

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