HIALEAH, Fla. – In response to the mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Miami Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced Thursday that the district will hire 75 mental health professionals.
"We will expand by hiring mental health professionals for the benefit of our students to be able to identify mental issues and deviant behavior prior to a tragedy happening," Carvalho said.
Gun violence and school safety once again took center stage at the first of several town meetings hosted by Carvalho. On Thursday, he met with staff, students and parents at Westland Hialeah Senior High School.
"Information is the best tool of prevention against the violence like the one that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas,” Carvalho said.
He has been unveiling the enhanced safety and security measures being implemented at Miami-Dade County Schools.
They include:
- Mandatory continued use of student IDs and reduced entry points at all schools
- Classroom doors remaining locked at all times
- Police officers being assigned to all middle and high schools with 100 new police officers soon joining the force
- Random metal detectors and K-9 sweeps continuing at all schools and school events
- Enhanced surveillance and information-sharing, which includes the use of highly specialized software to identify threats on social media