Sussex Tech high school adds new safety measures

SUSSEX COUNTY, DE. – Sussex Tech high school implemented some new measures to ensure all students are safe while on campus.

Some new faces joined the constable line up. This year, Jose Mendez and Mark Windsor are the newest members of the safety team.

“One big thing that we implemented this year was the constable program,” said Glenn Dixon, lead constable at Sussex Tech. “Many different school districts have initiated that over the years, so we had a good model to go by, but this will be the first time that we started the program here, at Sussex tech.”

Constable Dixon said between all of those responsible for school safety, they have over 100 years of combined experience, so parents can send their children to school knowing they’ll be in a secure environment.

“We have the experience and training I feel it’s necessary to make the right decisions- to really handle these situations,” Constable Dixson said.

Constable Jose Mendez said making connections with students helps them feel more comfortable around law enforcement.

“These kids come to us and just have a conversation, so it’s a good thing, and it shows that they’re not nervous because maybe see a badge,” Mendez said.

And he said the bottom line is, the constable’s top priority is to protect and serve all who enter the building.

“The more we do, more security and more measures, people see that it protects the school, so people will be like, ‘I don’t want to go there do anything’,” Constable Mendez said. “We are trying to make sure that the students, staff and anyone who visits are going to be safe, because that’s my main priority.”