Swampscott Schools To Use $310K On Violence Prevention, Student Safety

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott Public Schools will use a $310,000 grant to help improve school security systems and precautions — including surveillance camera coverage, emergency response protocols and student behavioral threat assessments.

Superintendent Pamela Angelakis said the Community Oriented Policing Services School Violence Prevention Program grant will allow the district to fully implement the new "I Love U Guys" emergency protocols introduced earlier this fall, as well as the behavioral analysis designed to enable proactive identification of students at risk for violent behavior, facilitating evidence-based practices for assessing, managing, and responding to potential threats.

She said the schools will also enhance their security camera system for greater coverage to allow real-time visibility and collaboration between police and school personnel.

"We are deeply grateful to the COPS program for recognizing the importance of school safety and
supporting our efforts to create a secure and nurturing environment for our students," Angelakis said. "This grant will enable us to implement cutting-edge security technologies and provide essential training, ensuring that our schools remain safe havens for learning and growth."

The "I Love U Guys" protocols replace the previous "ALICE" protocols with training sessions already completed for faculty and students. The grant funding will allow for training for all Swampscott police officers and additional staff, as well as ensure a smooth transition in the case of an emergency event.

Swampscott School Resource Officer Brian Wilson told Patch in September that the "I Love U Guys" protocols — named in honor of the 'I love u guys, k?' messages that Colorado student hostage Emily Keyes sent to her parents during a 2006 Platte Canyon High School school invasion in which she was ultimately shot to death — are designed to be less rigid and more age- and situationally-appropriate than the widely-used ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) active shooter drills.

Angelakis said in a news release on Thursday that the behavioral threat assessments will increase the district's ability to identify "risk in students, allowing for timely interventions without the need for lengthy external forensic reports."

The district will also upgrade its public address systems.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)