Safe Schools
Mail Bag - What makes your school safe?
If you'd like to share what makes YOUR school safe, e-mail kneanews@knea.org or fax your comments to 785-232-6012. Be sure to include the name of your local association, building, school district and a telephone number or e-mail address.
Great Bend NEA
by Judy Johnson
Great Bend is proactive in promoting school and student safety. Before the tragedies in Colorado and other parts of our country, the district and the city of Great Bend began developing the position of school liaison police officer.
That officer spends 80 percent of his time in the schools. He coordinates Crimestoppers and a youth forum at Great Bend High School and at Great Bend Middle School. In a joint effort with the district and the police department, emergency procedures have been updated and revised.
This spring, Great Bend Middle School (GBMS) took a team of 12 students to the attorney general's "Increase the Peace" summit. The summit provided training for team-building, an opportunity for students to identify the problems in their own schools, and empowered the students attending to accept some control to self-monitor.
GBMS team members presented to the student body a program explaining the district's expectations of acceptable behavior. The groups are planning regular assemblies, posters for the hall and other activities to model responsible behaviors throughout the year.
The Great Bend Middle School guidance department also uses the program "Flirting or Hurting" for classroom presentations. This KNEA program is an excellent visual for students to identify sexual harassment and provides empowering responses to those situations.
Administrators and other staff are highly visible in the halls and around the grounds. This is not a new policy, but rather something that has been encouraged throughout the district for a long time. I feel safe because of the level of trust I have in the students, the staff and the administration.
It may sound "Pollyanna," but I do feel that there is a sense of care and concern for one another.
Central Heights
by Darrell McCune, TEACH (The Education Association of Central Heights)
We have a uniformed officer on duty at the school at all times and we lock entry to several doors on the ends of the building in order to restrict access.
We have a code system in place and procedures to follow if an emergency were to occur. The procedures are visibly posted for a teacher or substitute to see and include lists of crisis management teams, chains of command and who to notify in an emergency situation.
Procedures are listed for fire, earthquake, bomb threat/explosives, tornado, intruder, runaway/abduction, serious injury or accident, death at school (homicide or suicide), death outside of school (homicide or suicide), utility emergency/asbestos release, chemical spill/hazardous material.
We have fire and tornado drills and have discussed the possibility of adding drills for other emergencies.
Besides our school nurse, we have a number of staff who, in addition to their regular duties, are certified EMTs (including myself). They are on call at the school in case of a medical emergency that requires more than one person or if the school nurse is gone.
Most teachers are certified in CPR, and we have held a number of classes here at the school for training. This is especially important for us, being out in the middle of a rural area 15 to 20 minutes away from an ambulance service or hospital.
We have installed two-way intercoms in all rooms. Administrators and other personnel, including the maintenance supervisor and deputy, have two-way radios to communicate with each other, the sheriff's department, and with classrooms (via intercom). All buses and school vehicles have cell phones. Buses also have two-way radios.
Our deputy officer has gone into the classrooms to give students talks on sexual harassment, especially as situations warrant it. This year, she will teach parts of the (KNEA) Bullyproof curriculum, as needed. We also do preventative conflict resolution in our Healthy Living classes and definitely with the deputy officer in the DARE program.
Our school building was made available to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department over the summer, so they could become familiar with the rooms. They practiced searches.
NEA-Seaman
by Karen Godfrey
Some of my school's rules seemed too strict to me until some of the recent school safety crises occurred. Now I appreciate their role in making our school secure.
Our students are never allowed in any part of the building unless a staff member is supervising, and our staff is visibly present in the halls and commons areas whenever students are there, especially between classes.
Students are not allowed to wear overclothing, hats, sunglasses or attire that might offend or provoke others. Nor do they carry book bags to class. Other than the front door, our doors are always locked, and all visitors wear visitor identification. I think the people in our building have good reasons to feel safe.
Logan NEA
by Becky Whitney
Some things that we do in our district to promote safe schools are:
- Received inservice training by Jim Fay (Love and Logic).
- Provide inservices for staff such as the bullyproofing workshop provided by KNEA.
- Fifth grade students participate in the DARE program.
- Representatives and patients of Valley Hope, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, do presentations for the junior high and high school students.
- Promote academic achievement by recognizing students through a "Student of the Month."
- Involve families through family reading nights, parent-teacher conferences, and Welcome Back to School nights.
- Various churches in the community host Fifth Quarter parties after ball games for students.
- Our school is currently in the process of writing a contingency plan so we will know what to do in case something would occur like in other schools around the country.
- Various classrooms deal with topics relating to hate crimes, laws and consequences that affect juveniles, problem-solving skills, ways to deal with anger, promoting good sportsmanship.
Frontenac Teachers Association
by Debbie Restivo
The doors are locked except for the main entrance. Visitor badges are mandatory and all staff and students are alerted to send anyone without a badge to the office to get one - no matter who it is. The crisis plan is posted by the door, practiced with students, and discussed with parents.
The Student Improvement Team meets weekly to discuss student needs, and to identify students who need extra attention. We are encouraged to read articles about early warning signs, violence prevention and school safety.
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