Published: Thursday, July 29, 2010

By Brooke Rawlins, News Desk
Madison Weekly
Madison, Alabama’s Hometown Newspaper

With the new school year beginning next month, the Madison City School Task Force is taking the necessary steps in ensuring the safety of all students.

At the Madison City School Board of Education meeting on Monday, July 26, Dennis James, the principal of Columbia Elementary School, was named the Student Safety and Communications Director for the city school system.

The Task Force, which was created after the February, 2010 Discovery Middle School fatal shooting of ninth-grader Todd Brown, is comprised of city leaders, members of the community, school administrators, parents and students. The Task Force has led the initiative in solving safety-related issues and helping to improve all lines of communication in Madison schools.

According to James, he will begin this position immediately and as soon as someone is hired as a replacement for the Columbia Elementary School principal position, he will focus solely on safety and communications.

While James admits that taking on this new full-time position may seem daunting, he's ready to take on the challenge.

"I got into education to impact students," said James, who has been the principal of Columbia Elementary School for six years. "We really need to look at how we look at the kids' safety.

"There is so much weight to this position. It's definitely a challenge. We're talking about people's safety, and it's obviously a very serious task."

But James will not be going into the position blindfolded. "There is a blueprint to start," he said, adding that his first 90 days will consist of developing a comprehensive plan. This workable plan includes creating a consistent response system for all Madison schools. All schools should take the same procedures in case of specific situations, such as a school lockdown or evacuation, James said.

Improving the communication among students, parents, teachers and administrators is also on James' to-do list. Helping create programs that tackle these communication issues is crucial, he said. "There's not a magic thing we can do there."

One way to help with communication and safety is to hire additional School Resource Officers (SROs), or police officers who are responsible for ensuring safety at the schools, James said. Madison City Council members and city leaders are currently looking into ways to fund these officers.

Currently, there is one SRO at Bob Jones High School, one at Liberty Middle School, one at Discovery Middle School and an SRO that rotates to each elementary school in Madison.

"We need students to view police officers as their friends," James said, adding that the purpose of the SRO isn't to intimidate the students, but to serve as role models and trusting adults. "The more people that a student communicates with the better," he said. "We need to provide as many as possible, and an SRO is one of these outlets for students."

James said the Task Force is receiving a lot of support from city officials as well as the Madison Police Department. "MPD is a big part of this. Chief Muncey and his staff have done a wonderful job."

At the July 26 Madison City Council meeting, it was unanimously approved by the council to purchase a new communications system for Bob Jones High School, Liberty Middle School and Discovery Middle School. It will cost about $37,000 to purchase new radio boosters for the SROs, said Police Chief Larry Muncey, and this will allow the officers to effectively communicate at all times.

"We're taking care of the citizens and students," Muncey said. "We're leading the way."