"School Safety" by School Board Director Nancy Bernard

School Board 

Nancy Bernard, Director - District 3

The shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, in December were horrifying to families and schools all over America. We think of schools, especially elementary schools, as a safe place for kids. To lose so many innocent lives is unthinkable.

 

Inevitably, though, we start to think about our own children and our own schools. Parents have asked the district administration and school board, "What are you doing to keep my child safe?" That is a legitimate question. Among other things, our district trains staff and students what to do in case of a dangerous situation. We have every building's layout and information on a secure website that all first responders can view, helping them with that response. We have school resource officers, uniformed police officers who spend time at our comprehensive high schools and middle schools.

 

That question also raises some other important questions for us to answer as a community. Those questions include what actions will make our students truly safer. What is the impact of closing off a school building from the rest of the community? What is the cost of any changes, and as a community, are we willing to pay the costs?  Read More >>

As a district, we have chosen not to rush into major changes because we want to answer these questions thoughtfully, in a way we can sustain for the long term. Dr. Pierce collected suggestions from the many parents who emailed her in the aftermath of the shootings. Principals also collected many ideas and suggestions from parent and teachers. All of this feedback has been provided to the district safety committee, which is made up of district principals, staff and PTSA representatives along with police and fire officials from area jurisdictions.

 

The safety committee is working through all of those suggestions. It has made changes to the district's lockdown procedure, as law enforcement continues to update its thinking regarding best practices. It has changed standard procedures around locking school doors, so that is the default except the school's front door. More importantly, a subcommittee will develop a safety strategic plan for the district to address school safety issues holistically. A committee is working on a plan to replace aging video cameras systems in the high schools. The use of video cameras for safety purposes for elementary and middle schools is being looked at as well. Other safety committee subgroups are looking at visitor access and additional security support.

 

Some of the suggestions the safety committee is looking at will require investments in school building infrastructure. Fortunately, we are just in the beginning stages of developing what might be part of a capital facilities levy, to go on the ballot in February 2014. That is when we will have the best opportunity of getting community support for and funding for these potential facility-related security upgrades.

 

We absolutely need to make student safety a priority. It is equally important to make sure we make changes that are effective, are supported by the community and address student safety from the many different potential risks our schools must be prepared to deal with.

 

In addition to steps the district is taking to address safety needs, it is important for families to also take steps to increase the safety of our children. From 2006 to 2010 in Washington State 195 children under 19 died from a firearm injury. If you have a gun in your home, it is your responsibility to store it where children cannot access it. See the Public Health - Seattle and King County Firearm Safety website for more information.

 

Source:  LWSD PTSA Council  2.8, April CURRENTS Newsletter