Dear Parents, 

Of the many roles and responsibilities we assume in educating your sons, there is nothing more important to us than their safety and security. In May of 2022, in the weeks following the Uvalde, TX, school shooting, we updated parents on our security protocols and practices. In August of this school year, I provided an additional update that included some new and enhanced protocols for the 2022-2023 school year. Last month, in Nashville, another senseless school shooting took the lives of innocent victims. We grieve for the children and educators who died in that incident and in too many other tragic incidents involving gun violence.

St. Christopher’s continues to view the topic of school shootings as a low-probability yet high-impact event. While there is an extremely low probability of such an incident occurring on our campus, the probability is not zero. As such, we must prepare thoughtfully and diligently, mitigating risk while continuing to foster a campus learning environment that is warm, inviting, and that nurtures positive relationships between the adults and young people in our community. 

I recently asked our Director of Security Hal Moser to present an update on St. Christopher’s security efforts to our Board of Governors. I would like to share some of that information with you all today. 

Our security team takes a multi-layered approach to prepare for a variety of threats, including fire, weather emergencies, accidents, and intruders. Some of the preparation is visible to the boys in the form of routine drills, but most of it is accomplished through training and coordination with faculty, staff, administrators, and Richmond-area fire and law enforcement officers. 

Before 2018, there was no full-time security presence on the St. Christopher’s campus. Today there are five members of the security staff on rotating duty, with coverage from 7:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and at many after-hours events. All are retired from distinguished careers in law enforcement and are fully immersed and invested in the mission of the School. 

These five officers–Director of Security Hal Moser, and supporting team Robert Cook, Bill Frank, Melvin Lewis, and Clay Woodcock–have over 140 years of law enforcement, criminal-investigative, and crime-prevention experience collectively. They have served the Henrico County Police Department, Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Chesterfield County Policy Department. 

In addition, they have served in and/or led a wide range of positions, including 25 years in school safety and resource officer programs to prevent and prepare for a response to school safety threats; 15 years as response team leadership for the SWAT and hostage negotiations teams; and executive protection experience on the security detail for two Virginia governors. We are very fortunate to have a security team with this kind of deep experience here at St. Christopher’s.

While we enjoy and still desire to be an open campus, we have taken steps in recent years to lock all doors on campus to deter external threats. Students, faculty, and staff have access cards to enter the academic buildings. Visitors are now required to check-in at a divisional office before proceeding into any campus building. Campus visitors have their license scanned via School Pass, a visitor-accountability system that screens against the most recent national sex offender database available. Finally, the installation of over 140 cameras around campus (a 100% increase in cameras since 2018) allows us to keep a watchful eye on campus happenings. 

Research from recent school shootings and other incidents shows that relationships are key in identifying and preventing those who may be likely to create harm on a school campus. We have created a threat-assessment team composed of security, administrators, counselors, and other faculty members. The purpose of the team is to address and implement assessment and intervention regarding reports of threatening behaviors. 

In 2016, St. Christopher’s added its first-ever counselor position to its faculty roster, charged with caring for our boys’ mental health and wellness. Since that time, we have added part-time counselors in each academic division. I am pleased to announce that in 2023-2024, St. Christopher’s will expand its counseling capacity to include a full-time counselor in each division, a first for St. Christopher’s School. These three trained, full-time counselors will join our three full-time divisional chaplains–who offer pastoral support to boys, employees, and families–and several faculty in each division who comprise our Health and Wellness team. Dr. Ann Vanichkachorn, our Director of Health and Wellness, ably oversees our divisional Health and Wellness teams and is also a part of our School’s senior leadership team. 

In any crisis, communication and prompt notification of a threat are paramount to containing and preventing further harm. In recent years, we have added additional technology and capabilities to ensure that we can act quickly and calmly. In 2020, we adopted RUVNA, a crisis-management app that enables us to communicate with parents and locate students in real-time during emergencies and drills. In addition to RUVNA, over fifty members of the administration and other leaders across campus now carry radios that provide instant access to the security team and streamline internal communication in an emergency. Panic buttons have been installed in all school buildings around campus, and we have outdoor towers that broadcast information to alert the campus of an emergency.

Given our coordinate relationship with St. Catherine’s, the two security offices work closely to ensure that both schools can effectively communicate and address potential concerns as they arise. In addition, our security team leverages their strong relationships with law enforcement agencies throughout the city and state, as well as with other area peer schools, to ensure that we are always up-to-date on best practices in school safety. 

As we routinely reinforce with our faculty and staff, security is everyone’s job. If you see something, say something. That extends to any member of our community who spends time on our campus. We appreciate your partnership in keeping our boys safe and healthy. 

Should you have any questions you may contact me or Director of Security Hal Moser. 

Mason Lecky

Headmaster