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LKSD Superintendent Weighs In On Gun Violence

Twenty-one years ago, Principal Ron Edwards and Sophomore Josh Palacios were killed by young shooter Evan Ramsey at Bethel Regional High School, in the Lower Kuskokwim School District.
Dean Swope
/
KYUK

Bethel was the site of a school shooting that predated Columbine by two years. Since 1997, the Lower Kuskokwim School District has endeavored to put systems in place so that such a thing will never happen again.

 

Twenty-one years ago, Principal Ron Edwards and Sophomore Josh Palacios were killed by young shooter Evan Ramsey at Bethel Regional High School. Since then, Lower Kuskokwim School District Superintendent Dan Walker says that they’ve held district-wide drills, constantly updating their training, and have been holding regular “lockdown/stay put” drills across all of their 27 campuses throughout the Delta.

 

“We’re always looking at how, as we do those drills, how we might improve things based on some of the latest knowledge that we get,” Walker said.

 

The district hired former Alaska State Trooper Perry Barr as their District Safety Coordinator. He is reviewing the district’s crisis and evacuation plans, according to Walker.

 

At each of the district’s schools, groups exist that monitor and intervene should any student appear to be troubled. They function under several different names, from Professional Learning Community and Child Study Intervention Team, to a Problem Solving Team. Those teams can involve parents and school social workers, or use any number of options to de-escalate a situation.

 

Walker said that he’d be surprised if students in the district did not become involved with the larger movement on gun violence and school safety sweeping the nation. He said that he welcomes student involvement, saying that any time students get more involved in the community, it makes them stronger as a whole.

 

“I suspect they have thought about it a little bit, and as that national movement gains some traction, you know, where they kind of have some ideas on what that advocacy and awareness is gonna look like, I know that we will very likely have some kids involved in that,” said Walker.

 

Walker encourages any community members to feel free to contact LKSD with questions, concerns, or recommendations.