LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Lots of parents were up getting their children ready for school this week.
It's something that's definitely true for parents in Little Rock, as the city's school district are officially back in session.
Ron Self, LRSD's Director of Safety and Security, said that safety is a major focus ahead of the school year, especially in light of recent tragedies. But, he emphasized that the district has been leading safety first for years.
"So the Little Rock School District is very fortunate in that we've been doing a lot of the "new" things for several years now," Self said.
Self said a big safety measure they have in place are cameras and district wide, there are over 3,000 of the devices..
According to Self, all of the district's secondary schools have been upgraded to newer style technology, which includes IP cameras.
After getting approval last summer, elementary schools in the district are currently seeing new camera systems added as well.
So far, four campuses have been fully equipped, and when its completed there will be 3500 in the district.
LRSD is one of the largest in the Natural State and homes over 20 thousand students, which is why Self said they're constantly looking at safety and are an "access control district."
"So [access control district] means all of our schools have access control, so all the doors are locked [and] they require card access to get into. We require all school doors, classroom doors, and external doors are locked at all times"
Locked doors could seem like a small safety protocol but Self said that it's a game changer.
"We've seen in recent events, as well as previous events that locked doors are one of the simple, most effective tools that we have," he said.
The tragedy at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas has put a new light on safety training.
LRSD staff completed active shooter drill instruction on August 9th and ahead of the school year, the district hired a full time emergency management coordinator.
This new addition to the district will help those in schools as they've spent the summer revamping all of their emergency drills, crisis drills and safety plans.
As for Self, he hopes these steps will ease parents' worries and show them the constant work that goes into protecting their children.