DoDEA: Camp Lejeune Dependents Schools

Safety and Security is our priority one at CLDS!

Camp Lejeune Dependents Schools works constantly to maintain a safe and secure learning environment for our students and working environment for our staff. We have implemented a "Safe Schools" Program, a sophisticated Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program at each of our elementary schools, have a full-time School Resource Officer (S.R.O.) at Lejeune High School, and have implemented a new and innovative Crisis Management Plan in our district.

Fire Safety is also emphasized with monthly fire drills and inspections by the Camp Lejeune Fire Department. In October of each school year, CLFD sponsors fire safety assemblies at each school.

The DoDEA Community Strategic Plan Goal 2, Outcome C: Safe Environment states, "All schools will have safe, well-managed, and disciplined environments conducive to learning." The exceptional academic success enjoyed by DoDEA students is possible because they benefit from a safe and secure learning environment.

The Safe Schools Program was originally developed in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals and enhanced through cooperative efforts with the American School Counselor Association and the International Union of Police Associations. During SY 1999-2000, each DoDEA principal received DoDEA Safe Schools Training. The 2001 evaluation of the DoDEA Safe Schools Program indicated that 89% of responding principals were using the Safe Schools Handbook and training to create a Safe School Plan.

On February 18, 2004, over 30 CLDS employees (including administrators, counselors, and nurses from each school) as well as representatives from the School Board, Command, PMO, Base Safety, and our Resource Officer attended "Safe Schools" Training sponsored by DDESS. Each participant was given a second edition of Safe Schools: A Handbook for Practitioners, which provides simplified and updated tools for Safe School Planning. This includes new student, staff, parent, law enforcement and climate surveys, and anti-terrorism guidelines, and a new approach to Incidence Response Planning.

Our administrators continue to work with our Logistics Management Specialist to maintain safe and secure learning environments for our students.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is jointly sponsored by DoDEA and the Provost Marshall's Office. A specially trained military police officer teaches seventeen lessons to all fifth grade students in the Camp Lejeune Schools. The lessons emphasize "Making Good Choices" and "Personal Responsibility." The classroom teacher reinforces the concepts taught.

For further information on the D.A.R.E. program and curriculum, visit the Official D.A.R.E. website.

The students of Lejeune High School and the Camp Lejeune community are very well served by placing a School Resource Officer (S.R.O.) at Lejeune High School.

What a School Resource Officer Program is:
The S.R.O. program places law enforcement officers in schools with the goal of creating and maintaining safe, secure, and orderly learning environments for students, teachers, and staff. With such a program, the officer represents much more than the "cop in the shop." A S.R.O. program reflects a community's desire to ensure that its schools are safe, secure, and orderly. S.R.O.'s represent a proactive strategy designed to bring prevention and intervention into the schools.

In the late 1950's, the first S.R.O. program was started in Flint, Michigan. The goals for the program were to improve police/youth relations, to have officers in school full-time, and to serve as teachers and counselors. The first S.R.O. program was created in North Carolina in 1971.

Definition of S.R.O.:

Law enforcement officer (LEO) on campus
Counsel students and parents on law related subjects
Present educational programs on law related subjects

Goals of the Program:

Increase positive attitude toward law enforcement
Bridge the gap between police officer and children
Encourage more citizen cooperation between kids and police officers
And to reduce juvenile crime through 1) counseling, 2) teaching about the system, and 3) personal interest in students

What School Resource Officers are:

First and foremost, they are law enforcement officers whose primary purpose is to "keep the peace" in their schools so that studetns can learn and teachers can teach.
They are law related counselors who provide guidance on law related issues to students and act as a link to support services both inside and outside the school environment.
They are law related education teachers who provide schools with an additional resource by sharing their expertise in the classroom.

Beyond these identified roles and perhaps most importantly, S.R.O.'s are positive role models for many students who are not exposed to such role models in today's society. Their presence in the schools sends a strong message that violence is not acceptable.

For further details on the role of the School Resource Officer, please see the 2001 School Resource Officer Surve y on the National School Safety and Security Services website.

As directed by DoDEA, Camp Lejeune Dependents Schools have implemented a sophisticated and thorough Crisis Management Plan that consists of three integral components: 1) a Risk Reduction Program, 2) an Incident Management Plan, and 3) an Anti-Terrorism Program.

The first component tasks each school with identifying specific areas in their school that need to be improved (i.e., gang presence, fighting, etc.). It states an objective and lists the action steps that the school will take to ensure the problem can be remedied.

The second component addresses conceivable serious incidents that could occur to any or all schools and lists specific steps to follow in that event.

CLDS works in conjunction with base officials to counter terrorism in the third component. This plan illustrates procedures, policies, and schematics for both officials of schools and first responders from the military base in the event of an emergency.