School Safety
Tools for Enhanced School Safety
Wilson County Sheriffs Office School Threat Reporting Form
This form has been prepared by the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office for the continued protection of our students, educational institutions (public or private), and their faculty.
With the anonymous reporting system, students, faculty, parents, and the public can easily and confidentially report their concerns to help prevent violence in our schools and our communities. Tips can be submitted 24/7 through the mobile app from any compatible device. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security will review, assess, and then send all submissions to law enforcement, mental health crisis response teams, and/or school administrators for intervention based on the information received.
Safety & Emergency Management Overview
Steve has 18 years of experience in emergency management, of which he has served 11 years as the district's director of safety and emergency management. Before coming to Wilson County schools, Steve was the Chief of Planning for the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency. Steve was involved in many presidentially declared disasters, including the 2010 Floods, the 2020 tornadoes, and COVID-19. Steve has also deployed to coastal areas following hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Steve holds a BS in Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management from Arkansas State University and is working on his graduate degree from Jacksonville State University. Steve graduated from the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy in 2013 and the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy in 2019 and is a certified emergency management professional through the Emergency Management Association of Tennessee. He is an active International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) member and serves on the K-12 caucus.
In his spare time, Steve serves as a lieutenant on a fire department in a neighboring county, where he is a firefighter, a trainer for emergency vehicle operations, and a member of the hazardous materials team.
Steve's emergency management philosophy is that preparedness and resilience begin with each family. A family prepared for disasters is the first step in a community's recovery. If families can recover quickly, the businesses reopen, schools reopen, and the community reopens.
The Wilson County School District has in a place a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to address multi-hazards for the school district and assure accountability of students, staff, and visitors to our schools. A School Emergency Planning Committee has been assembled made up of internal and external stakeholders from law enforcement, EMS, firefighters, and emergency managers to principals and department heads throughout Wilson County. The committee meets on a regular basis throughout the school year to write, modify, or update the Wilson County Schools Emergency Operations Plan. Exercises of the various functions within the plan are conducted in the schools monthly, with functional and full scale exercises with external stakeholders during the school year.
Each school has trained individuals making up a Crisis Management Team. This team has responsibility of activation of the district emergency response plan with assigned duties to address each function of the crisis. A district Crisis Management Team is ready at all times to activate, respond, and support the local crisis team and emergency responders.
Wilson County Schools is proud of its School Resource Officer (SRO) program which allows for at least one if not two, full-time deputies from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department in our schools every school day. Our SRO’s are highly trained individuals not only in law enforcement but also specifically in school emergencies and response. The SRO’s interact with our students on a daily basis and are available throughout the entire day should a crisis occur.
The Safety and Emergency Management Department has in place daily protocols to address access and control to the buildings, communications internally and externally, and warning notification.
It’s the goal of the Safety and Emergency Management Department to provide a safe atmosphere for learning to the students, and confidence for parents. The Wilson County Schools Emergency Operations Plan provides for: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery before, during, and after an emergency.
Information on Family Preparedness: