SUFFOLK, Va. - A group of parents is taking their kids' safety at school into their own hands.
Suffolk Parents for School Safety (SP4SS) is described as "a group of parents volunteering their time and energy to improve school safety."
The group was formed in recent months as a way to help Suffolk Public Schools better secure school buildings in the wake of shootings at schools across the country.
Jennifer Brennon, President of SP4SS, says she was inspired by parents in Chesapeake who are doing something similar.
According to a flyer recently sent out, SP4SS is focusing on low-budget items like lockdown magnetic strips for classroom doors, classroom door window coverings and safety bags for each classroom and bus, etc.
Asst. Superintendent for Student Services Suzanne Rice sent News 3 the following statement regarding their partnership with SP4SS:
I have met with this parent group several times and our division welcomes their interest and active support. We were able to create individual safety accounts at each school that will allow parents to make personal monetary donations directly to each school. We are also creating an account in our finance dept for this parent group to deposit large scale donation such as business or corporate that can be used for items to be used division-wide such as a visitor management system for each school. The system will scan IDs and run a background check then issue a photo visitor badge with a time and date stamp. This system will also log all visitors in and out of the school daily and have the capability of running reports.
For more on what Suffolk Public Schools are doing to secure buildings, click HERE.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the North Suffolk Library, Brennon says SP4SS is joining with the administration and others to put on a forum on school security.
