Schools are supposed to be places where children are safe and enjoy their innocence, but the Connecticut school shooting has raised questions about security.

It’s a sad reality that Chicago Public Schools are well versed when it comes to security and dealing with the threat of gun violence.

“All of our schools have a very secure access control strategy,” said Jadine Chou, the Chief Security Officer for Chicago Public Schools. “If that means a metal detector to a hand held metal detector wand, all of our officers are well trained to make sure weapon’s do not enter the schoo.,”

Chou says Chicago’s strategy is proactive. They want to prevent any chance for gun violence.  The bigger challenge for CPS and Chicago police has been protecting children as they head to and from school.

CPS maintains a steady dialogue with police and the community to gather intelligence about conflicts between students to try and head off trouble before it flares up.

As a precaution, the CPS security office sent out email reminders to principals and security people that detailed safety plans and reminded everyone to be vigilant.