Anglophone East School District has stepped up after hours security around Riverview Schools.
This was a discussion brought forth at a recent District Education Council meeting.
Superintendent Gregg Ingersoll says it was a suggestion from a community support group after the shooting incident in January, and also due to concerns over reports of graffiti and vandalism.
“It was so people feel more comfortable in the evenings and weekends around the schools. Security officers go around to all of the Riverview schools in the evenings and weekends and steadily keep an eye on things. There has been a lot of issues happening as there is in lots of communities on weekends and so on, in places where kids can get behind schools, or young adults, or whoever it is, and doing things that they probably shouldn’t be doing and this is making a big difference. It gives people another sense of security in the Riverview schools,” Ingersoll says/
The had originally had planned it for the month of February, but decided to extend it into March.
District Education Council member Brenda Mawhinney says so far the initiative has been very well received by parents, “There have been comments about the security checking out the schools and how much they think it has been helpful and how they would like it to be continued. Security (officers) write a report and the Principals of the schools get it to see what has happened on the playground the night before. Parents obviously see that this is helping and they would like that to be extended into the summer, and when the weather gets nicer because that’s when things start to really get a little more active around the schools.”
Ingersoll says, “At the end of March, we will have two months of data and will take a look at it then and make a determination what the plan looks like going forward.”
