Roanoke City Public Schools and Roanoke College came together to celebrate “Read Across America Day” while also highlighting a unique partnership.

Roanoke City Public Schools has finished renovating several schools in the district with more secure entrances. The schools affected are Monterey Elementary School, Lincoln Terrace Elementary School, Morningside Elementary School, Fishburn Park Elementary School, Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Lucy Addison Middle School. "The traumatic effect of school shootings has brought about greater thinking when it comes to safety and security," said Roanoke City Schools Chief of Security Chris Perkins. Perkins says the biggest challenge was balancing school security with providing a suitable atmosphere for students. Lynchburg City Schools has one student resource officer for every middle and high school in the district, Franklin County Schools just added additional school resource officers and Danvile City Schools recently upgraded its surveillance system.