Flint school students adjust to new safety protocols
FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) – Students and teachers are two weeks into the new school year at Flint Community Schools with the district’s new safety protocols in place.
“We have decided to do all that we can to prevent any contraband or any weapons of any kind coming into the building,” said Kevelin Jones, Flint Community School’s superintendent .
If you have a kid in the Flint Community Schools, you’ve seen kids with and without clear backpacks. This is a part of new security protocols the district has put into place to stop issues of students bringing in weapons and other inappropriate items.
“Pocket knives, we’ve had scholars [...] we’ve had some guns that were broken apart come in, in bookbags, some soft air-pistols. And just, you know, they never made it past the metal detectors but we can’t spend our entire day working at a metal detector.”
Metal detectors can now be found at all buildings in the district this year, and starting in September, schools in the district will use a new sign-in system for visitors which will require a proper ID to be presented and verified to get access into the schools.
“This is helping us get the school day started, this is helping us keep scholars safe, and parents will be able to trust what we’re doing. So, we’re happy about it,” Jones said.
A new adjustment to the clear backpack rule: kids in kindergarten through sixth grade will be the only ones in the district to get to wear clear backpacks, while kids in seventh grade and up won’t get to have backpacks at all.
“Seventh through 12th, they’re used to that. We started it last year and we’re just continuing it this year,” Jones explained. “They came on the first day, no backpacks.”
And the district will be supplying the clear backpacks to students at no extra cost to families.
“We use our at-risk dollars, our grant funds, to support a lot of that because this is something that scholars need to be successful,” Jones said.
Moving forward into the school year, Jones said he sees this school year going much more smoothly than their last.
“We’re excited about the come up in Flint Community Schools. We’re going to continue to utilize our ARPA dollars in that space and ensure that we’re doing what’s best for our scholars,” he said.
Besides the new safety protocols, renovations are being planned at Brownell Stem Academy and Holmes Stem Middle School Academy. There are also plans for a new auditorium at Potter Elementary School.
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