CULLMAN, Ala. – As part of a recent shift in responsibilities, Cullman City Schools is ensuring its focus on school and student safety remains a top priority.
Mark Stephens, who previously served as an assistant principal at Cullman High School, has transitioned into a new role as districtwide coordinator of student affairs. Now based in the central office, Stephens is responsible for districtwide athletics (a hat he also wore as assistant principal), as well as school safety and transportation.
With a key focus on safety before the school year began, the district collaborated with the City of Cullman’s Director of Public Safety, Brian Bradberry, to strengthen working relationships with local first responders.
“I can’t express enough the gratitude to the City of Cullman. Director Bradberry’s office has been wide open and they have worked hard to meet our needs,” Stephens said. “We wanted to go above and beyond checking compliance boxes, and we truly want to put every resource available to ensure that our students feel safe at school.”
Stephens said he has worked with local police and fire and rescue on wayfinding drills, which help provide a baseline of familiarity for school facilities among first responders. That led to doing two days of familiarization with local first responders, with almost every potential first responder having now fully toured Cullman City Schools’ campuses to gain familiarity with the campus footprints.
“With our construction and much needed renovations, this will continue to be an ongoing process. However, we feel that in the need for response, coupled with great communication, this will enhance their ability to respond in a quick, efficient manner,” Stephens said. “Additionally, it is important to get the perspective and feedback of those who actually serve as those boots on the ground, and we make sure to listen to those professionals to see what we can learn from their experience.”
He continued, “It is essential to recognize the Cullman City School Board and Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff for proactively working to ensure that we were in compliance with the School Security Act before it was signed into law. Part of the bill requires school systems to have the school safety coordinator stationed at the central office being able to directly communicate with the superintendent. The good news is that our administrators at the local schools do an outstanding job not only with planning, but implementing school safety plans.”
Cullman City Schools works with the City of Cullman for an integrated response plan across police, fire and dispatch, with protocols created to ensure everyone knows their roles and duties in the event of a crisis.
“Planning and response is such an important part of school security,” Stephens said. “Staying diligent and working as hard as we can on prevention will always be the best course of action.”
