When most people think of school culture, they may not immediately think about school safety. However, if the people in your building do not feel safe, they will never perform at their max potential. If parents don't feel that you take the safety and security of their children seriously, they will never fully support your mission. When I first arrived at Camp Creek Elementary, several key stakeholders mentioned the need to take school security and safety more seriously. This was not a problem for me. I have always felt school safety should be a top priority! The year before I came to this school, the district I worked for sent me to a state level School Safety Specialist school. We listened and learned from safety professionals, homeland security, school SROs, and mental health professionals. This experience changed my whole outlook on school safety. Thankfully, it gave me the tools I needed to address the safety issues at my current school.
My first step was to create a school safety team. The first task for this team was to complete a Risk Analysis of our school, and collect survey information from faculty and parents. This required us to walk through the school and identify potential safety hazards that needed immediate attention, and analyze feedback from our surveys. Some of the initial issues that we identified through these processes were:
- Front Entrance Security
- Classroom Door Locks
- Safety Drills
- Student Responsibilities
- Communication
The first area we physically addressed was the front entrance. When I first arrived, the front door stayed unlocked at all times. Parents could walk right into the foyer, and then the secretary had to buzz them into the main office to talk to them. At this point, every visitor could easily access the main halls via the offices interior door. We knew we had to eliminate this threat. (Warning…this was no easy task. We sold A LOT of snow cones and received donations to pay for this project!) First, we moved our buzzer system outside the first entrance so that we can keep the front door locked at all times. Now, parents must use the buzzer system at the first entrance to get into the foyer. Next, we installed a sliding window at the secretary's desk. This allows her to interact with visitors without letting them into the main office. Third, we installed mirror tint on all the interior glass at the main entrance. This eliminates visitors from seeing students in the front hallway. Finally, we installed a visitor management system that requires all visitors to pass a sex offenders scan prior to being admitted to the building. This system also tracks who is in the building, for what reasons, and how long.
The second area we addressed was our classroom door handles. We had several handles that would not lock properly, or required the teacher to step out in the hallway (during an emergency situation) to lock the door with their key. Our maintenance department came out and replaced/updated all of our door handles. We then had a locksmith come out and re-key all the doors. This eliminated the need for forty different keys in the building. It also allows a teacher that may have a class in the hallway to quickly get their students into the closest classroom during a lock-down.
The third area we addressed was our safety drill procedures. Most of our procedures were not currently considered best practice. We completely overhauled our schools EOP (Emergency Operations Plan), which required us to diligently analyze and plan for multiple emergency situations. We developed a current map of our school which displays our primary emergency routes, secondary emergency routes, and the emergency shutoffs for HVAC, water, and electrical (this knowledge is crucial is a crisis situation). We developed a schedule for emergency drills, and carefully walked through them together before involving students. I also decided that having a drill at 10:00 AM every first Monday of the month was not best practice. I started mixing up the times and days of drills. The truth of the matter is, crisis does not hit during the most convenient times! You need to be prepared for anything at any time! Not only did we start taking our drills more serious, but we started practicing such things as off site evacuations and reunification drills. We assigned roles to each faculty member and loaded a bus to our site. There, we walked through everyone's roles and discussed how reunification would look. This helped our faculty (most which had never done anything like this before) fully grasp the concept. Several faculty members made comments about how glad they were that we did this. Finally, we held a Parent Information Session that focused on School Safety. We invited parents in, fed them, and talked to them about some of the changes we were implementing.
Next, we knew that we had to educate our students about the seriousness of school safety. We discussed and demonstrated proper etiquette during drills and crisis situations. We discussed the importance of students knowing what to do in certain situations. One of the main things we want our students to learn is: "If you see something, say something!" We want our students to immediately report things that seem out of the ordinary. If they see a stranger on campus, tell an adult immediately! We also tell our students that they are to NEVER (under any circumstances) open any doors to let outsiders into the building. All visitors must enter through the main entrance.
The last area we had to address was communication. We only had one way to communicate, and that was via PA system. We had a few handheld radios that team leaders carried, which required these team leaders to be responsible for reporting for multiple classes during safety drills. The old radios were not charging or even programmed correctly. We raised funds and purchased a radio for every classroom. Our SRO programmed a channel for emergencies, and a separate channel for every grade level. This has allowed us to better communicate, especially during emergency drills. I can now talk to each teacher directly, and not have them report to a team leader.
By addressing these focus areas immediately, we were able to make big improvements to our school's safety and security. My faculty has appreciated the efforts to increase our safety, as well as our parents. Many of our parents continue to express gratitude over the improvements we've made. They feel relieved that the safety of their kids is a top priority…and as I stated before, if teachers and students don't feel safe, they will never reach their max potential! Overall, this is not a difficult undertaking. It just takes some collaboration, attention to detail, communication, and possible fundraising. No matter the cost, anytime you can improve the safety/security of your school…it's well worth it!!!
Until Next Time…Wilds Out!
PS...My Faculty/Staff Rock! Absolutely none of these positive culture changes would have ever happened without their support and dedication to making our school a better place!