FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Presents Pleasant Home School
with 2019 Safe School Award
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall today presented Pleasant Home School in Andalusia with the Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award for State Board of Education District 1.
Schools were selected as winners of the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award from each of the eight state school board districts as well as one private school statewide. In addition, three schools were selected for the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence and 61 schools were
selected for the Attorney General’s 2019 Certificate of Building a Culture for School Safety.
“The safety of our schoolchildren is a vital matter foremost in all of our minds and hearts, and this year we have enhanced the Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Awards to encourage and honor more of those who have implemented strong programs to protect our students, teachers and other staff,” said Attorney General Marshall. “These schools have developed innovative programs and taken practical, effective steps to combat the threat of violence that has become a terrible part of our modern society. Their dedication and resolve to provide a safe haven for learning is an inspiration to us all.”
In presenting the award today Attorney General Marshall said, “The Attorney General’s Office is proud that Pleasant Home School was selected as one of the winning schools in Alabama for 2019. In making this decision, judges noted many things that distinguished Pleasant Home School: the overall strength of its school safety plan, excellent crisis planning and crisis management training
and a very detailed safety plan.”
Rodney C. Nichols, principal, said, “School safety is a top priority at Pleasant Home School. We spend a lot of time planning and preparing the best ways possible for safety incidences at our school. Our school resource officer, Sergeant Joe Schneider, serves a critical role on our team: reviewing our safety plan with school administrators, ensuring all employees are familiar with procedures for safety drills, working closely with administration to constantly evaluate and revise our plans based on feedback from drills. We are proud to be recognized for our hard work and dedication to keeping our school safe, and truly blessed as a school and a community to have Sergeant Schneider as our SRO. We accept this award as a group because that is how we have achieved it. Everyone at PHS and the community has a hand in achieving our safety status. It is a collaborative effort between Covington County Sheriff office, staff at PHS, students and the community. We will continue to use our strengths for a safe teaching and learning environment, and constantly look for ways to improve and make PHS the safest school in Alabama.”
In coming weeks, Attorney General Marshall is presenting the Safe School Award to nine winning schools throughout Alabama, as well the Safe School Award of Excellence to the state’s top three schools overall.
For the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award, one public school with the top score was selected for each of the eight state public school districts and one private school statewide. These winners are District 1: Pleasant Home School, Andalusia; District 2: Loachapoka High School, Loachapoka; District 3: Shades Mountain Elementary School, Hoover; District 4: Northridge Middle School, Tuscaloosa; District 5; Prattville Junior High School, Prattville; District 6: Austin High School, Decatur; District 7: Forest Hills Elementary, Florence; District 8: Discovery Middle
School, Madison; and private school: Lee-Scott Academy, Auburn. Attorney General Marshall will visit these schools to present the awards in person.
For the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence, one public school with the top overall score was selected from the North, Central and South regions of Alabama. Attorney General Marshall will visit each school to present the award in person. These winners are North Region: Decatur Middle School, Decatur; Central Region: Westlawn Middle School, Tuscaloosa; and South Region: Orange Beach Elementary School, Orange Beach.
Winners were selected by a panel of independent judges who reviewed submissions from a total of 124 schools. A list of schools that received the Attorney General’s 2019 Certificate of Building a Culture for School Safety may be found in the Attorney General’s news release of December 19,
2019, available through this link.
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