Durham Public Schools holds ‘Safe Minds, Safe Schools’ summit; students urge more mental‑health staff and anti‑bullying action

Durham Public Schools convened a Safe Minds, Safe Schools summit where Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis, safety and student‑support staff, law enforcement and a panel of students discussed steps the district is taking to protect students and where families and officials say more work is needed.

At the start of the summit, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis framed the conversation broadly: “when we're talking about safety, we're talking about the physical safety of our buildings. We're also talking about the social and emotional and mental health safety of all of our scholars,” he said, adding that safety is “not just a policy. It's a promise.” The summit followed a February security breach at one Durham high school that Lewis cited as a reason for renewed attention to safety.

District safety officials described already‑deployed measures. Eva Howard, executive director of safety and security and emergency management, said DPS uses secure vestibules (visitors must check in at the main office), security cameras, restricted zones and on‑site personnel, including school resource officers embedded in middle and high schools. Howard said each DPS school has a crisis response plan “that is reviewed and updated annually” and that the district’s standard response protocols are aligned with the national model. The district also operates two anonymous…