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SRO: locked doors, drills and a new director underscore strong start to Beech Grove schools
Summary
Lieutenant Rinks told the Beech Grove City Schools board the school year opened with few incidents, praised staff and described active-shooter exercises and a renewed focus on keeping classroom doors locked; he also announced Julie Q. Smith as the district's director of school safety.
Lieutenant Rinks, the district's school resource officer, told the Beech Grove City Schools board on Aug. 12 that the new school year has started well with few disciplinary incidents and strong student participation in athletics. He highlighted that girls flag football rosters exceed expectations and praised coaches and student engagement.
Rinks said staff and officers ran a realistic active-shooter training at the middle school in June with role players and borrowed prop cap guns to simulate noise and disruption. He warned that locked classroom doors are paramount: "If we can't get in and your doors are locked...that's our first line of defense," Rinks said, describing how locked doors hinder an intruder's access and improve staff confidence in responses.
Rinks reviewed officer coverage across buildings and cited continuing transportation and dismissal traffic challenges. He credited recent schedule changes — including staggered lunches — with fewer tardies and fewer students leaving campus at lunch, which he said reduces accidents and limits unsupervised hallway movement.
He also announced that Julie Q. Smith is now serving as the district's director of school safety and noted her leadership roles with the Indiana School Resource Officer Association. Rinks said he expects Smith to pursue grant opportunities to support SRO programs and school safety initiatives.
The presentation closed with Rinks inviting community attendance at upcoming athletic events and thanking school staff for what he described as "the best start so far" to a school year.
