Laredo Independent School District held a press conference Monday morning to remind the Laredo community to follow safety rules in the city — especially around areas where schools are located — to keep students safe now that the new school year is almost back in session.
LISD Board of Trustees President Monica Garcia welcomed the different law enforcement members in attendance at the press conference.
“We thank you for making sure our students get to school safely and that the neighborhoods around our schools are safe and secure,” she said. “As the mother of three, aunt of several nephews and nieces, and neighbor to many little ones, I am always a little anxious and praying for our children to get to school safely in the morning and back home in the afternoon.”
Garcia reminded everyone to be actively engaged in creating and keeping a safe and supportive environment for the students.
“But back-to-school safety isn’t just for our kids and their parents,” she said. “It affects everyone in Laredo. Children wait at bus stops near busy roads during rush hour, and buses share the road with us all.”
She added that the biggest risk regarding school buses is children approaching and exiting the bus.
“Often children do not remember to follow best safety practices, so it’s up to the motorists in the community to keep safety in mind,” she said. “Whether you are a student, a parent or simply a responsible member of the community, please watch out for the kids and make this school year safe and happy for everyone.”
LISD Superintendent Dr. Sylvia G. Rios also thanked law enforcement agencies for the work they do to keep the community safe.
“It is individuals like you who really care about this community,” she said. “It is individuals like you who provide that safety, that sense of comfort to make our schools a place for children want to be and a place where parents feel that they can send their children without cares.”
Rios added that safety it is always a top priority in everything that is done at the school district.
“Now we have more equipment, including shields, body armor, radios, training — and our trainings have been beyond the walls of just what our Laredo ISD PD is all about, it’s extended into our classrooms,” she said. “We’ve talked about the different types of language, the different types of responses that we need to be able to embrace and act as one. I am proud to say that that communication reverberates very strongly in everything that we do.”
Rios said every student and staff member will now have new IDs
“Now you can see brand new IDs, and we’ve got this funding that was appropriated to our IT department,” she said. “So every single school has the equipment and the resources to provide the IDs to every single child and to every single staff.”
Rios said it does not take a tragedy to make us understand the importance of looking out for each other, looking out for students.
“Thank you so, so much for putting yourselves on the line, for creating opportunities for our children by keeping them safe,” she said.
LISD Police Chief Doreen Hale said that school safety is a shared responsibility and gave some safety recommendations to parents now that the school year is about to start.
“We want to take this opportunity to share how parents and staff can play a vital role in keeping our students safe,” she said.
Later Hale provided some recommendations:
- Obey all the speed limits.
- Stay alert at all times.
- Dive safely.
- Stop when there are red flashing lights in the school buses.
- Stay vigilant around school zones.
- Watch for crossing guards.
- Drop off students in designated areas.
- Do not text and drive.
Hale also spoke about the “See something, say something” campaign and the right paths to report any suspicious activity. She said students, parents and staff are encouraged to call 956-225-5454 to report any suspicious activity.
“We want you to know that this is an anonymous line to report any suspicious activity that is going on in or around our schools or that you may see online,” she said.
Hale added that is very important to know that if anyone sees something, such as online threats. These should be treated very seriously and reported to the correct agency.
“It needs to be reported as soon as they see that threat, so it can be investigated properly and vetted,” she said.
There will be a guard in each one of the 31 schools, Hale said, to comply with Texas House Bill 3. And the district’s police force work in advance with students, staff and administrators to know everyone’s role during a active shooter drill.
“We conduct and have conducted for many years several active shooter drills throughout our campus,” she said. “When we do these active shooter drills, we don’t want them to not know what needs to be done.”
Finally, Hale assured that safety is the top priority for Laredo ISD.
“We are always working to ensure that your children are safe while they’re attending our campuses,” she said. “I also want to thank everyone here in attendance who have worked with us day in and day out for our families and for doing their part.”
Joe Baeza, Laredo Police Department Public Information Officer, said that before the start of the new school year, collaboration between the different agencies is important to open communication with school districts.
“The community is a big element in the communication flow, and we ask that if you see or hear something to report it, not wait for someone else to report it,” he said.
Baeza also urged parents to talk to their children to avoid posting threats on social media.
“We are in constant collaboration with the LISD Police Department to investigate threats,” he said. “The message, as always, is for parents to talk to their children so they don’t use social media to post threats, which in most cases cases are jokes that are published without thinking about the impact they will generate.”
Baeza said threats are thoroughly investigated to see if the person who posted them has access to weapons and the ability to use them.
“Most of the time the person doesn’t have access to weapons, but if there are weapons in the house, then that is documented and a thorough investigation is done,” he said.
Baeza also reminded adults and those students who are starting to drive that a car is not a toy and it entails responsibility.
“It’s important to leave early, as there is already an increase in traffic, and it is the price of growing as a community. We are no longer the little town where we could get anywhere in five minutes,” he said. “From Wednesday there will be more traffic, and it is advisable to leave early to the destination to avoid being late due to an accident or problem with a car.”
He recommended that people drive courteously.
“The roads that give us the most problems are: Loop 20, Cuatro Vientos, Clark, McPherson and Jacaman, but we will be there to help with traffic,” he said. “In essence, it is requested that drivers leave with enough time to their destination places, that they respect the signs and that they drive with courtesy.”
Dr. Oscar Perez, Executive Director for Health and Occupational Safety Support Services, said that they have been working in equipment and staff and students trainings and certifications.
“It’s always great to know that our students, for example, will not open the door to anybody since they have been provided provided with trainings that they should not be opening a door to anybody,” he said.”That means that we can continue training our new students that are coming to our district to make sure that nobody’s supposed to open the door to anyone and that doors are locked and secure at all times, during instructional time.”
He said that there is a lot more to be done, but LISD is working to put all these layers of protection that they are implementing in the campuses.
“We want the parents to know that their child, that our students are safe at all times,” he said. “I thank the community for their response to our call to contribute to the safety of everyone in our school district.”
