The Worcester School Committee takes up operational safety

 part of the continuing "I'm in COVID isolation and so catching up on the blogging while I wait to get well" series here...

Last Thursday, the Worcester School Committee received a report on emergency preparedness as the report of the superintendent. You can find the presentation here; on the video, it's about 22 minutes in.

What I think is most important about this is we're finally--after far too many years of "school safety" being about little other than "what if there's ever an active shooter"--looking in a holistic way at actually having staff and students be safe at school. 

To that end, the following information shared shows most frequently is happening at our schools:

Note also here the reasons why the police have been on WPS campuses.

One of the first things that Dr. Monárrez asked about when she came on was for our last full evaluation of district security and emergency response. There...isn't one? There was a partial evaluation of some of 15 of our buildings in 2015, but no action was taken on that under the previous administration (in fact, I don't know that it ever was even shared). 
Thus we're well overdue for a full look, not only at the physical security of our buildings, but all else that we do to make and keep staff and students safe at school. WPS thus now has a contract with Guidepost Solutions to do a full review of all of that. The report goes to administration, but if there are aspects that need School Committee involvement (that would largely be policy and budget), that will come to us.

What also is very useful is the way in which the district looks at responding to what happens in schools has changed. This isn't only about the increased attention to student mental health supports and school climate supports, though it is that:

..it's also, as above, recognizing that most of the time there is something that students and staff need to respond to in a building, it isn't (thankfully) an active shooter: it's a myriad of other things. The district then is using materials and training from the I Love U Guys Foundation, which, again, are about responding to emergency situations of many kinds with a standard set of actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter. That's their Standard Response Protocol. You can read the full document from their website. 

As I said at the meeting, one of the things I found most encouraging--maybe even revolutionary, and I mean that in a good way--is the commitment the foundation requires from districts using their training (this is from page 9 of the above): 

The protocol also carries an obligation. Kids and teens are smart. An implicit part of the SRP is that authorities and school personnel tell students what’s going on. Certainly, temper it at the elementary school level, but middle schoolers and older need accurate information for the greatest survivability, and to minimize panic and assist recovery.

Being honest with kids. It's quite a concept. 

I was a teacher when Columbine happened, and the parent of a first grader when Sandy Hook did. I am accustomed to leaving sessions on what often gets presented as 'school safety' shaken and furious about how little it seems to do or comprehend about public education, those who work in it, and the kids we serve. 
Last Thursday, instead, I was encouraged that we're doing something constructive, that evaluates with an honest eye what we are actually doing, and works on things that will in fact make our staff and students safer.

That's an encouraging change.