Catholic Diocese of Syracuse talks about safety at its private catholic schools

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Security is top of mind for all schools again, after this weeks deadly school shooting in Nashville.

We often hear about security at our public schools, but what about private and catholic schools? NewsChannel 9 checked in with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse to find out what its doing to keep your kids safe in school.

School security, its a never-ending discussion for William Crist, Superintendent of Schools at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.

“Since Columbine all of our schools and I think every school in the nation has had a heightened alert about how do we better keep our schools safe,” said Crist.

The superintendent oversees 21 schools across the seven county area covered by the Diocese. From Syracuse to Norwich, 17 of the schools are elementary, while the others are four high schools. Just like public schools, the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse is continuing to ramp up its security measures.

“All of our schools are equipped with surveillance and security systems that are cycling through. So there’s a 24-hour system in place to see that and know that,” said Crist.

Its all part of a task force put into place by District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, after the 2018 deadly mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. It remains active too, with the Catholic Diocese adding resource officers to six of its schools, one way glass, additional locking systems and more.

“Prevention is a big piece of what we do also awareness of our school community are also big areas of interest that we focus on, on a daily basis. So if you see something say something,” said Crist.

Crist also sharing a message to parents who may still be concerned about their child’s safety.

“Your children are safe, that we believe that we do an awful lot on a daily basis to bring our students and families into a place that we believe are safe,” said Crist.

Always encouraging the school community to speak up.

Powered by News Channel 9.