By Kadie Taylor
The Observer
BEAUREGARD — Community and state leaders, along with Lee County law enforcement, gathered at Beauregard Elementary School on Monday, Feb. 23, for the presentation of the Attorney General’s 2025 Safe Schools Award.
Beauregard Elementary School Principal Laura Dunlap welcomed visitors and the fifth-grade students who attended the event. Fifth-grade student Lucy Moore led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, and a choir of fifth-grade students sang “The National Anthem.”
“We’re very proud of our school and glad to have you here to visit with us,” Dunlap said. “We have a very strong relationship with our local law enforcement and emergency medical team. Our SRO division — led by Sheriff Jones, [along with] Capt. Harrell, Lt. Revels, Sgt. Alexander and Cpl. Treadwell — are all instrumental in making sure that our school safety plan is one of the best in the state, if not the nation. So we are so grateful to them — they go above and beyond to make sure that we are taken care of, we always know the latest things that are happening in school safety and they always make sure that things are top-notch. We’ve also been blessed by a strong relationship with our local emergency division, Beauregard Volunteer Fire comes here anytime we need them. They’re always stopping by to come help with drills, same thing with EMA. So we’re very grateful to them for that strong partnership, as well as our board members and central office staff. We thank you for being here with us this morning, too. We always have their full support — safety is a top priority in our county, so we’re grateful for them being here.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall said Beauregard Elementary School is one of nine schools to receive one of the Alabama Attorney General’s 2025 Safe Schools Award of the over 1,500 public and private schools across Alabama.
“I’ll tell you why you were selected, but let me talk first about why it matters,” he said. “First of all, your parents sent you to school today, understanding that you were going to be safe, that nobody was here that could cause you harm and that you had the ability to come to a place in which you feel comfortable. For students, we know that when you feel safe and when you’re in an environment in which you enjoy, you have an opportunity to be able to thrive. And for your teachers, they understand they have an opportunity to be able to come to work, not worried about their safety and security and focus on what’s most important — the students in this room.
“So let me tell you a little bit about why a team of judges chose you as one of Alabama’s best. One of the things that became clear from your application is that at this school, the safety practices are aligned with national industry standards, while fostering strong collaboration with first responders. You implemented a comprehensive emergency alert system that includes campus-wide alerts, accessibility for all personnel and clear authorization for use. You make sure that both your interior and exterior doors remain locked at all times, secured and monitored to ensure a controlled environment. This school continues to maintain a thorough behavior threat assessment and management process at both the local and the district levels, you conduct drills that ensure that students and staff are prepared for emergencies, and you provide an anonymous tip line to encourage reporting of concerns. In addition, you have maintained a detailed emergency operation plan to guide your response efforts. What is clear is that you work collaboratively across multiple disciplines to ensure that this is a safe place to learn.”
Marshall recognized the efforts of Beauregard’s SRO Dep. Daulton Garnett and his work to maintain student safety. Following his remarks, Marshall presented Dunlap with a framed proclamation and a plaque to recognize Beauregard Elementary School’s receiving of the 2025 Gold Medal of Enhanced School Safety.
Garnett said he enjoys working at Beauregard Elementary School to help keep local students safe and is happy to see the school receive recognition for its safety.
“[This award] means a lot,” he said. “Working with them and teaching the kids the safety [and importance] of keeping doors locked, it means a lot. My role here is building a relationship with these kids and working to help them have a positive view of law enforcement as they grow up. [We want them to know] we’re not the bad guys and for them to see us in a helpful light.”
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said school safety is a priority for the sheriff’s department, and he is glad to see a Lee County school recognized for its dedicated work to ensure student safety.
“It’s very exciting to see the good work of the school, the teachers, the administrators and even the students — it was well-deserved recognition,” he said. “I deeply appreciate Attorney General Marshall for his recognition of them with what I think is a singularly important award. With school safety being as important as it is, we are all concerned about that. It’s been a priority for the sheriff’s office for years, to take care of our children, and this recognition and the close work that we’re able to do with the Lee County School Board — and all of their staff, administration and all the teachers in Lee County — is critically important for us to protect our children, and that’s what this award is all about.”
Dunlap and Beauregard Elementary School Vice Principal Dylan Nevels shared the work done to apply for the award and what school safety and the recognition mean to them. Nevels said he heard about the award at a conference last year and was inspired to begin the process of applying for Beauregard Elementary School.
“If a student and your staff feel safe, they’re going to want to be at school — both physically and emotionally; we want to focus on their well-being, and [seeing this award] lets the parents know that they can feel comfortable sending their kids to school,” Nevels said. “[When I heard about the award it I thought], ‘We do such a good job with safety, we make it our number one priority.’ So I started looking into it, talked to some of our school resource officers and got some more information about that — [then I began working on completing] the four-phase process.”
“I hope it’s reassuring to parents and students that we take safety very seriously, that it’s a priority for our school, school system and county leadership,” Dunlap said. “I hope that this award reassures them that we have safety as our top priority. We’re here for academics, we’re here for learning, we’re here for all of those things — but if the kids are not safe, then it makes it where we are not able to [focus on] those things. So we’re glad to to have the honor of receiving the award, and hope that it will be a reassurance for parents that we’re on the right track.”
