Campus supervisor’s well-mapped system keeping students safe at Lincoln Southeast High

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – During America’s Safe Schools Week, many schools are focusing on the safety protocols that help keep students and staff safe.

One of the people who works to do that daily is Eric Williams, the campus supervisor at Lincoln Southeast High School.

He starts his day before students arrive around 6:30 a.m., taking care of tasks like setting up computers and addressing those who have forgotten a form of identification.

But the primary purpose of his role is much bigger.

“We work on teamwork. We work on visibility. We work on strategies. We work on just monitoring every aspect of the building to be able to relay information back to administration or whoever else needs it,” said Williams.

He does this through a well-mapped system of cameras around campus and walkie-talkies that keep him in touch with his team.

Williams says these items help quickly identify any suspicious activity. He said step one is keeping those around him calm while any incident is sorted out.

“We don’t want to alert the kids that there might be a situation that’s happening, and a lot of times, they don’t need to know that because they can’t do anything to prevent it at the time,” said Williams.

He said this is not always easy to do, considering the nature of students.

“Kids, they’re naturally curious, and then kids have phones, and then kids get on phones, and they broadcast,” said Williams.

After news of activity spreads throughout the school, his team will do their best to debrief the students and “let them know everything’s fine.”

Williams says that in the event a student is required to jump into action, students have seen safety videos and experienced drills that help prepare them.

“If there’s something that really needs to be dealt with, we will inform them or we will take the necessary action needed to be,” he said.

America’s Safe Schools Week runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2, but Williams says he prioritizes students’ safety and well-being every day.