MATTHEW BURNETTE
Staff Writer

The Coffee County School System announced on Sept. 16 that they will begin implementing
weapons detection systems at Coffee County Central High School starting on Sept. 22.

“Coffee County Central High School is committed to maintaining a safe, secure and supportive
learning environment for every student,” the announcement read. “As part of our continued
efforts to be proactive in making our campus safe, we will be implementing weapons detection
systems at CHS on September 22.”

Along with the announcement, the school system also released a list of best practices for
students to “expedite their arrival process each morning.”

For the first few days, it is recommended that students arrive a few minutes early so they have
adequate time to get screened. Students arriving at 7:40 a.m. or later should expect a line.

During the first few days of implementation, students who are on-time to school will not be
counted tardy if delays occur.

Three-ring binders and any laptops or Chromebooks should be removed before walking through
the screeners. Notebooks shouldn’t trigger an alert.

Students should clean out their backpacks and remove any excess metal including pocket
mirrors, makeup cases, eye curlers, curling irons, pencil cases, breath mint cans and metal
glasses cases.

“Some of these items may be essential for you, so please prepare by moving these items to
cloth/fabric,” the best practices list suggests.

As students pass through the screeners each morning, students should carry their backpack or
bag through at the center of their body with both backpack straps around their shoulders.

“Thank you for your patience as we implement additional safety measures to ensure we are
keeping Coffee County Central High School Safe,” concludes the announcement. “There will be
a learning curve in adding weapons detection at our school, but it will be well worth it.”