Muscle Shoals City Schools welcome back students with new School Resource Officer

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WAFF) - Muscle Shoals City Schools students are heading back into classes for the new 2022-2023 school year. Several students will meet their new school resource officer.

Frank Echols will make his debut as the school district’s first SRO, according to the Times Daily.

Echols will be making his rounds at Webster and Highland Park elementary schools this week.

“We’re adding a school resource officer this year and this conversation had already begun before what happened in Texas and of course the Uvalde situation just put an exclamation point on it for us in terms of the need,” Superintendent Dr. Chad Holden said.

Dr. Holden said the school systems plans to add more SROs to the team soon.

In the meantime, Dr. Holden said there are alert systems throughout every school in the district. According to the Times Daily, he says, they’re working on developing a plan to use their digital technology for crisis alerts using their existing infrastructure.

He says they try to prepare the staff for the unthinkable. Dr. Holden said district administrators are always reviewing safety plans and conducting monthly active shooter drills.

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