VCSC says schools are safest place for your children

VIGO CO., Ind. (WTHI) - As details continue to emerge in the Connecticut tragedy, many parents have to be wondering what protocols their child(ren)’s school has to prevent and deal with an incident of this magnitude.

Right here at home, we sat down with the Vigo County School Corporation and officials to see how they're dealing with the news.

The first thing the Vigo County School Corporation wanted us to stress was that a school is one of the safest places for your child to be.

In fact, in 2004, a study from the U.S. Department of Education found that the odds of a child dying in school are no greater than one in a million.

Regardless, the Vigo County School Corporation plans year round for the safety of your child.

Ray Azar, Director of School Security for Vigo County, said with each of these events, the county updates its security protocol.

If you remember the tragedy at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, Azar said it was a turning point for the school system.

He says the technology they have now prepares them for times like this.

"Now we have video systems in all of our schools. We can review things after they happen. We can monitor things on a live basis to all of our schools whenever we need to do that,” Azar said. “We have radio systems. Today, right after this, an announcement went out from our superintendent to the schools explaining what had taken place and advising them to make sure they are at a heightened sense of awareness.”

Azar said the school corporation was not under a lock down, but a heightened alert for all schools.

He also said they usually work with local law enforcement to perform drills that simulate this type of scenario.

But, he added, something like this is often impossible to plan for completely. So, they update their plans on paper and in action year round.