BRYAN, Texas — Gloria Goode says she never had to worry about her safety when she attended Fannin Elementary School as a child.
"Back then, we didn’t have to have none of that," Goode said. "Just come in. We played. We had fun. We learned. We didn’t have to have lock-ins, lockouts."
Now, with a grandson in the same school she once attended, she is happy Bryan ISD is implementing new safety procedures for the 2023-2024 school year to help her like other parents and guardians feel more secure sending their child to school.
The district received a $1 million donation from the Donald & Donna Adam Family Foundation in January to enhance security.
This year the district is adding high-quality, "military-grade" maps of all its schools to assist first responders, reducing response times.
The district is also adding a response protocol advising students what to do during lockdowns and evacuations in the case of active shooter and severe weather events.
Assistant Director of Safety and Security Rich Himmel says the procedures promote a culture of safety.
"We just always have to be thinking about the worst-case scenario," he said. "Think about our safety, how would I would respond to that if something happened."
Schools in the district are also continuing security practices from previous years like having security cameras inside and outside schools.
They are also locking all doors during instruction periods, requiring sign-ins with state-issued IDs that conduct backgrounds checks, and employing school resource officers and eventually armed security guards at each elementary school.
Plus, all staff and students in sixth grade and up are required to wear school-issued IDs.
Goode says although she can't always be with her grandson, she can trust he's safe.
"I always tell him, 'Always know your surroundings, always pray, always that God got you,’” she said.
To learn more about district safety, visit the district's website.