Darkness to Light honors district

Berkeley County schools are one of the first districts in the nation designated as Darkness to Light Partners in Prevention.

The designation is reserved for organizations that train all of their members in child sexual abuse prevention.

'We are thankful for the leadership of local organizations like the Berkeley County School District,' D2L Chief Operating Officer Jolie Logan said in a release. 'They've set the bar for others by showing that they will take action to protect children from this most devastating crime.'

Berkeley County has been working toward designation since 2009, training employees on ways to prevent child sexual abuse, performing criminal background checks and limiting opportunities for one adult to be alone with a child.

To maintain the designation, the district will have to perform necessary training on new employees and refresh all staff after three years.

"With this designation, we are sending a clear message to parents that the district is committed to preventing child sexual abuse," Berkeley County Superintendent Rodney Thompson said. "We want families to know their children are safe in our schools. Our employees are trained to recognize the signs of child sexual abuse and are prepared to have open dialogue about the issue to prevent it from impacting our students."

D2L manages education programs on child sexual abuse prevention in 49 states and 15 countries. Visit www.D2L.org.