District School Safety Overview

Helpful Health and Safety Links

School Safety management encompasses many areas. First and foremost is school emergency preparation. This effort is constantly being refined as needs are identified. Mike Kell, Director of Student Life and School Safety, coordinates this initiative with the commitment of the Safe Schools Committee, the Emergency Personnel Subcommittee, and the Safe Schools Community Subcommittee.

Student, parents, faculty, staff, administrators, mental health professionals, emergency management, fire and police personnel, the county safe school coordinator, and a juvenile probation department representative comprise this committee. The Emergency Personnel Subcommittee is active in refining the district's Safe Manual and Emergency Communication Plan. The District's 24-hour crisis hotline, scheduled for implementation in 2009, is the focus of the Safe Schools Community Subcommittee. Both committees have worked on the refinement of fire drill and evacuation routes and lock-down and shelter-in-place protocols. Several members are present at these drills and have provided invaluable feedback to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, and staff. After-action debriefings are central to providing high-quality emergency planning.

Implemented in 2000, the Restorative Practices Framework is a student management system that has had great success in building a healthy school community at the high school level. Over time, it has improved faculty/staff and student relationships. This is reflected in a decrease of discipline reports.

In the past year a numbering system has been placed on all district door entrances so that emergency responders can identify locations and access them with speed and accuracy. This system is the first phase of compliance with FEMA's National Incident Management System. Safe schools committees have been formed in each school, and training will begin for members who will be first responders in the event of an emergency.

The district employs eleven safety personnel, three trained security officers, and eight trained hall monitors. All school safety personnel have been trained in CPR, first aid, automated external defibrillator operations, and bomb search techniques. The district also maintains a security camera system in each of the buildings.