CMS Holds First Weapons Screening In Two Schools

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools released photos showing the first security sweep for weapons on students in history.

“I was reluctant to do that because I want our students to know I feel our schools are a sanctuary, it’s a safe place for them,” said Superintendent Dr. Clayton Wilcox.

Dr. Wilcox spoke after screenings Tuesday at Garinger High School and Rocky River High School.

“I saw students who understood why we were there,” said Dr. Wilcox.

In the pictures, you see students standing, arms out, while security uses a metal detecting wand to search for weapons on their bodies.

You see students emptying backpacks and security looking through their bags.

Teams found no weapons, no drugs.

“I also saw screening teams that respected the dignity of each of the young people they approached,” said Dr. Wilcox.

This is one of several ways CMS is working to upgrade security after a Butler High School student shot and killed a classmate in October.

A community faith leader chose the names of eight schools out of a box Monday.

To read that report, click here.

The district says Garinger and Rocky River were the first two opened for the security scan.

The goal is to keep the names secret so students do not know when a sweep is coming.The district notifies parents before and after.

The screening team includes: the principal, assistant principal, two school resource officers, six security associates with CMS police and one faith leader to ensure no one is specifically targeted. If a faith leader isn’t available, the district will proceed without them.

A faith leader did witness the Garinger screening. A faith leader was not available for the Rocky River screening.

The team chooses to search students in random classrooms, in a single building or in the entire school.

This time, the district searched four random classrooms in each school. That’s about 240 students. It took about eight minutes to scan a class.

“I want to thank the kids themselves because this is, in many ways, kind of gross indignity that we are subjecting them to. But the young people understood, and the young people cooperated,” said Dr. Wilcox.